Folding@Home is a distributed computing project that uses idle processing power from personal computers to perform protein folding simulations aimed at studying diseases. For COVID-19, it has gained 700,000 new volunteers, creating a supercomputer network with an exaflop of computing power. By simulating how virus protein chains fold, researchers hope to map protein structures and disrupt virus replication. Both large tech companies and smaller collaboration tools are contributing resources to fight the pandemic.

1. TECH'S FIGHT AGAINST
COVID-19 (FOLDING@HOME)
RAJAT KUMAR
IT 3RD YEAR ROLL 47(UNIV.ROLL-10400217058)
IEM KOLKATA
31ST MAR ‘20

2. OVERVIEW
1. Introduction to Folding@Home
2. Supercomputer Network of 700000 PCs vs Covid-19
3. Each CPU & GPU counts
4. Protein Chain Folding
5. Previous Success
6. How to contribute
7. Other Big Guns gearing Up
8. Small Tools In Big battle
9. References

3. 1.INTRODUCTION
• Folding@home (FAH or F@h) is a distributed
computing project for performing molecular dynamics
simulations of protein dynamics. Its initial focus was on
protein folding but has shifted to more biomedical
problems, such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, COVID-
19, and Ebola.
• The project uses the idle processing resources of
personal computers owned by volunteers who have
installed the software on their systems
• Folding@home is currently based at the Washington
University in St. Louis School of Medicine, under the
directorship of Dr. Greg Bowman. The project was
started by the Pande Laboratory at Stanford University

4. 2. SUPERCOMPUTER NETWORK OF 700000
PCS VS COVID-19
 For the past 20 years, the project has been mapping
disease proteins involved in Alzheimers and cancer,
but in late February it began modelling the protein
structures of Covid-19 too.
 This decision prompted the project’s biggest ever
spike in new volunteers signing up via downloadable
software – around 700,000 so far, putting it on track
to reach one million total users.
 The network is now operating at an ‘exaflop’ of
computing power: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (a
billion billion) operations per second.

5. 3. EACH CPU & GPU COUNTS
 The project has pioneered the utilization of central
processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units
(GPUs), PlayStation 3s, Message Passing Interface
(used for computing on multi-core processors), and
some Sony Xperia smartphones for distributed
computing and scientific research.
 Due to the features of being able to use CPUs as
Well as GPU it has achieved a speed of
approximately 768 petaFLOPS, or 1.5 x86 exaFLOPS,
by March 25, 2020, making it the world's first
exaFLOP computing system.

6. 4. PROTEIN CHAIN FOLDING
 Each Virus' viral genetic information is protected by a layer of protien which is initially in form of
simple straight chains. But when The virus has to pass its genetic information to infect a cell its
protein layers get folded in a “dynamical motions” & that's what Folding@home's molecular
simulations are attempting to map.

7.  If we are able to map , we can disrupt its receptor process and might form a vaccine.
 Although our mind and cells do it so naturally but when it comes to computers, its very resource
intensive and it requires tons of processing power and that's why having a distributed network of
computers is really gonna give this project wings.

8. 5. PREVIOUS SUCCESS

9. 5. HOW TO CONTRIBUTE
 To contribute to this dire motion all you have to do is to download its client software from here.
 and sign in or you can do so even anonymously.
 Volunteers can track their contributions on the Folding@home website, which makes volunteers'
participation competitive and encourages long-term involvement.

10. 6. OTHER BIG GUNS GEARING UP
Google offers its
Google Cloud for
COVID-19 Public
Datasets
Apple Configures
Siri to provide
Guidance
Facebook offers
up Messenger
Ping started Free
single sign-on,
MFA for remote
workers
IBM, Google,
Microsoft, HPE
created an HPC
consortium
 Other Than Folding@home project Other Big tech giants like Google, Apple And Facebook are also
gearing up to help fight the Novel Corona.

11. 4. SMALL TOOLS IN BIG BATTLE
PushBullet(Cross
Platform
Connectivity App)
Lens(Google And
Office)
Microsoft
Whiteboard
Microsoft To Do
Mircosoft's
Sticky Notes
Zoom(Video
conferencing
App)
Besides these Big Giants, The Foot troops That are complementing in aspects like work from home

12. SUMMING IT ALL UP
 Present Scenario calls for All of the techies to contribute what they can Because the Situation is really
dire.
 Do contribute to Project Like Folding@Home if You have some idle processing power.
 Do make use of All the small but efficient techs to help fight Covid-19,

13. 8.REFERENCES
• https://foldingathome.org/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78vz5HAFDQU&t=221s
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding@home
• https://tech.newstatesman.com/cloud/foldinghome-supercomputer-
network-covid-19-cure
• https://www.computerworld.com/article/3534478/tech-pitches-in-to-fight-
covid-19-pandemic.html?page=2