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The Human Genome Project
Imagine IT Solutions is taking part in the Human Proteome
Folding project. We have 3 dedicated workstations running
24x7 analyizing data. This data will be used to help provide
the grid project with much needed information.
Today only a fraction of the 30,000 Human Genome proteins
have known structures and functions. Being able to predict
the structure of every protein in an organism will contribute
to our overall understanding of how those predicted proteins
interact with the organism as a system. Can you imagine
trying to fix a car or a machine knowing the function
of only 30% of the components? That is the situation that
biomedical and biological researchers, to their credit,
operate in. Thus, anything that can shed light on these
mystery proteins is highly valuable to the field of biology
and medicine.
Making the Impossible Possible
Predicting the protein structures based on known Human
Genome sequence data requires powerful software tools
and large amounts of compute time. For example: Examining
the entire human genome for instance could require up
to 1,000,000 years of computational time on an up-to-date
PC. Using a commercial 1000 node cluster would require
50 years and, while faster, would still be impractical.
To have an immediate scientific impact,
completing an entire prediction run for the human genome
would ideally take less than a year. Before the existence
of Grid.org this project wasn't thought possible -- now,
the project is on its way to being completed
The Human Proteome Folding
Project analyzes sequence data from the Human Genome to
predict how the proteins coded there are likely to function.
Since proteins directly affect human health and are key
targets in developing disease treatments, understanding
their structure and function is critical. At present only
a fraction of human protein structures are known -- this
project seeks to dramatically increase that number and
make the data available to scientists for further study
by the end of 2005.
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Coming Soon: Relay for Life 2006. Our Goal for
2006 is set! $10,000.
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