What the hell is G@h doing???

[Prof.Wizard]

I know that this is totally embarrassing since I'm a medical student and I should have understood it by myself, but how on earth is Genome@home working?

Is it designing the proteins? The genes? The mRNAs? What?!? :-?

OK, here is why I'm so perplexed:
The goal of Genome@home is to design new genes that can form working proteins in the cell.
This is done indirectly since the client says it designs proteins, not genes. If you know the exact sequence of the aminoacids it's quite easy to deduce the possible genes* (from the base triplets) which encode it.

Genome@home uses a computer algorithm (SPA), based on the physical and biochemical rules by which genes and proteins behave, to design new proteins (and hence new genes) that have not been found in nature. A day or two's worth of running Genome@home is enough to design new protein sequences that the world has never seen before.
Ehh? Proteins not found in nature? What are they talking about?! If you see your individual results, and the proteins you have so far "encoded" you'll see virus, mouse, and bacteria proteins... and they even have a link to a database from the group that designed the stereochemical model of the protein.

What are we searching exaclty? Can someone (preferably with Biosciences background) explain me? I mean, the UD think and the Folding@home projects are much more straightforward...

*genes since more than one gene can encode for the same protein. The DNA code is flexible...

 

[CougTek]

I think you would have much better luck to find an answer in the Genome@home discussion group than here. From what I understand, the Genome Project does the same thing as the Folding Project, but in the inverse order. The Folding analyses existing proteins in order to find how they were formed and the Genome tries to buld proteins from their basic blocks (genes I think).

I'm not a leading light in this stuff though.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

...the Genome Project does the same thing as the Folding Project, but in the inverse order...

This is what I thought too. The problem is they say it designs proteins not found in nature... though this hasn't been the case for the proteins I unfolded... :-?

 

[Pradeep]

That's because they are still testing the validity of the science. They have/are going to present some papers on the results so far. The project is still in beta of course.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

I hope you're right...

 

[Prof.Wizard]

What's going on with NRG?
We all try to help humanity by understanding "useful" proteins and Will designs renegade scorpion toxins ( ) to kill us all!

http://gah.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/userpage.pl?q=nrg_mc2
LOL

 

[Handruin]

What's going on with NRG?
We all try to help humanity by understanding "useful" proteins and Will designs renegade scorpion toxins ( ) to kill us all!

http://gah.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/userpage.pl?q=nrg_mc2
LOL

He's not the only one, I have about 6 of them designed along with a handful of HIV proteins.

 

[Buck]

I think we all have those. Plus, I have a TYPE III ANTIFREEZE PROTEIN ISOFORM HPLC 12. I didn't know we were creating proteins for cars, or are designing adjuncts for cheap wine?

 

[Handruin]

I think we all have those. Plus, I have a TYPE III ANTIFREEZE PROTEIN ISOFORM HPLC 12. I didn't know we were creating proteins for cars, or are designing adjuncts for cheap wine?

They do have forms of anti freeze that you can consume. Ever have a McDonalds milkshake, or cool whip? :drinka:

 

[Buck]

I think we all have those. Plus, I have a TYPE III ANTIFREEZE PROTEIN ISOFORM HPLC 12. I didn't know we were creating proteins for cars, or are designing adjuncts for cheap wine?

They do have forms of anti freeze that you can consume. Ever have a McDonalds milkshake, or cool whip? :drinka:

Hence, the reference to cheap wine.