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Information Technology News PS3 processors enlisted to fight Alzheimer's
Information Technology News PS3 processors enlisted to fight Alzheimer's | PS3 processors enlisted to fight Alzheimer's |
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| by Stan Beer | |
| Sunday, 27 August 2006 | |
  
US scientists intend to build a supercomputing network from idle PlayStation 3 boxes sitting in gamers' homes in a project aimed at understanding diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer. A project started by US biological scientists, called folding@home (FAH), has already built a large distributed network of PCs to simulate the shape of proteins and examine how the way they fold may cause specific diseases.
The scientists at FAH
want to enlist the PS3 consoles in gamers' homes into the network when
they're not being used. Volunteers with PS3 boxes would download a
piece of software that would enable FAH to use their processors when
they're idle. However, with analysts predicting that about. 30 million PS3 computers will be sold over the next five years, it is conceivable that the network could eventually involve millions of PS3 consoles in a network of unprecedented computing power. Sony is working together with FAH on real-time protein folding simulation software and a graphics viewing interface for the PS3, which is expected to be ready when it hits the market in November. {moscomment} |
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