WASHINGTON, March 22, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Gamers, bitcoin “miners” and
companies large and small have teamed up for an unprecedented data-crunching
effort that aims to harness idle computing power to accelerate research for a
coronavirus treatment.
The project led by computational biologists has effectively created the
world’s most powerful supercomputer that can handle trillions of calculations
needed to understand the structure of the virus.
More than 400,000 users downloaded the application in the past two weeks
from “Folding@Home,” according to director Greg Bowman, a professor of
biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Washington University in St. Louis,
where the project is based.
The “distributed computing” effort ties together thousands of devices to
create a virtual supercomputer.
The project originally launched at Stanford University 20 years ago was
designed to use crowdsourced computing power for simulations to better
understand diseases, especially “protein folding” anomalies that can make
pathogens deadly.
“The simulations allow us to watch how every atom moves throughout time,”
Bowman told AFP.
The massive analysis looks for “pockets” or holes in the virus where a
drug can be squeezed in.
“Our primary objective is to hunt for binding sites for therapeutics,”
Bowman said.
– ‘Druggable targets’ –
The powerful computing effort can test potential drug therapies, a
technique known as computational drug design.
Bowman said he is optimistic about this effort because the team previously
found a “druggable” target in the Ebola virus and because COVID-19 is
structurally similar to the SARS virus which has been the subject of many
studies.
“The best opportunity for the near-term future is if we can find an
existing drug that can bind to one of these sites,” he said.
“If that happens it could be used right away.”
This is likely to include drugs like the antimalarials chloroquine and
hydroxychloroquine which may be “repurposed” for COVID-19.
Bowman said the project has been able to boost its power to some 400
petaflops — with each petaflop having a capacity to carry out one
quadrillion calculations per second — or three times more powerful than the
world’s top supercomputers.
Other supercomputers are also working in parallel. The Oak Ridge National
Laboratory said earlier this month that by using IBM’s most powerful
supercomputer it had identified 77 potential compounds that could bind to the
main “spike” protein of the coronavirus to disarm the pathogen.
– ‘No end’ to compute power –
The Folding@Home project is fueled by crowdsourced computing power from
people’s desktops, laptops and even PlayStation consoles, as well as more
powerful business computers and servers.
“There is no end to the compute power than we can use in principle,”
Bowman said. Large tech firms including Microsoft-owned GitHub are also
participating, and the project is in discussions with others.
Anyone with a relatively recent computer can contribute by installing a
program which downloads a small amount of data for analysis. People can
choose which disease they wish to work on.
“It’s like bitcoin mining, but in the service of humanity,” said Quentin
Rhoads-Herrera of the security firm Critical Start, which has provided its
powerful password “hash cracker” computer designed to decrypt passwords to
the project.
Rhoads-Herrera said his team of security researchers, sometimes described
as “white hat hackers,” were encouraging more people to get involved.
– Fighting helplessness –
Computer chipmaker Nvidia, which makes powerful graphics processors for
gaming devices, called on gamers to join the effort as well.
“The response has been record-breaking, with tens of thousands of new
users,” joining, said Nvidia spokesman Hector Marinez.
One of the largest contributions comes from a Reddit group of PC
enthusiasts and gamers which has some 24,000 members participating.
“It is a fantastic weapon against the feeling of helplessness,” said Pedro
Valadas, a lawyer in Portugal who heads the Reddit community and is a part of
the project’s advisory board.
“The fact that anyone, at home, with a computer, can play a role and help
fight against (disease) for the common good is a powerful statement,” Valadas
told AFP.