The determining of the 3D structure formed by a protein whenever placed in water constitutes a fundamental problem encountered in computational biology and modern pharmaceutical design. The computational power of today's computers and methods is far from adequate to solve this matter but Dr. Pulleybank introduced to the audience the Blue Gene project, which was launched in late 1999 at IBM Research. The aim of Blue Gene consists in constructing a million node petaflop general purpose computer which will be applied to the protein folding problem. The planned architecture is thought to form an excellent platform for the integration of an ab initio molecular dynamics approach. The scientific community considers protein folding one of the most significant grand challenges, a fundamental problem in science or engineering which has broad economic and scientific impact and whose solution can be advanced only by applying high performance computing technologies.
Proteins control all cellular processes in the human body.
Comprising strings of amino acids which are joined like links of a chain, a protein folds into a highly complex, three-dimensional shape that determines its function. Any change in shape dramatically alters the function of a protein, and even the slightest change in the folding process can turn a desirable protein into a disease. Better understanding of how proteins fold will give scientists and doctors better insight into diseases and ways to combat them. Pharmaceutical companies could design high-tech prescription drugs customised to the specific needs of individual people. Physicians could respond more rapidly to changes in bacteria and viruses which cause them to become drug-resistant.