Research Results

[SandyG]

Been doing FAH for a couple of years now with a lot of investment in building up a nice cluster of computers for the work. Given that, I'm always curious of the results of the time and money invested in this to help various causes that FAH supports.

My questions now is what results in the research has come for some of the work being done, I have my processing always set to pick any cause, but what I was wondering is their a page that shows what we have accomplished as a group?

I don't want to fish up every cause and try to see what is going on but a status page of how we have helped, and oddly I feel that we should get this from the folks we are doing the work for. I know this is all donation / volunteer to help, and while it's fun getting points and 'climbing the ladder' of rank, I would really love to know what accomplishments have come out of my (and everyone's work).

Does some consolidated page of information exist like this? Again if we are supporting various causes, would love for them to feed back on some results of the work.

Thanks

Sandy

[toTOW]

You can start with the news page : https://foldingathome.org/news/

[Jonazz]

Or the page with their published papers: https://foldingathome.org/papers-results/?lng=en

[SandyG]

Thanks for the reply on this, most of those links are pretty low level, and I'm not sure I would understand much of anything said in the papers or even most of the news articles. Looking for something like a simplified layman's version of how we are helping here at FAH for the average Joe

Sandy

[toTOW]

FAH is low level research ... I don't know an easy way to find higher level studies that might use FAH results ...

[SandyG]

No worries, just wondering if anything like that existed for the simple folk

Sandy

[BobWilliams757]

No worries, just wondering if anything like that existed for the simple folk

Sandy

I can only speak for myself, but I think sometimes the scientists and researchers forget that not all of us have advanced degrees in the various science involved in the research we help fold. I remember watching a couple of the videos they released, and found most interesting. But there were a couple that at some point they went so technical that my eyes started spinning before they rolled back into my head and shut down in hopes that my ears and brain could continue to grasp as they went beyond my teachings into deep scientist speak.


Similar to yourself, I'm always curious about what actually comes from the projects I help fold. And I've had an interest in other science topics as well. But sciences often move slowly, and often years and years of work suddenly come together at some point and a greater understanding unfolds. From there this often starts a new chain of research based on the information, and the process continues, often for decades and decades. Since F@H is open to all once the information is out there, we may never know who, what institutions, what companies, etc used the information to take a step forward. Folding might be but a small piece of the pie and other similar work makes up more pieces that finally come together and form that pie. Or it may unfold a vital piece that changes the world, major understandings of science, or saves a lot of lives. We may never know for sure.

But I do know that I've lost family and friends to many of the diseases that F@H hopes to help cure. Grandparents, parents, an uncle and even a very young niece to various cancers. One of my aunts has a husband currently in the grips of a neurological disease. One family related death to COVID, and another very close call. Friends and acquaintances over the years that have been through some of the same. Some of them lived long and full lives, others had hardly started their lives.

So for me, I figure if I can somehow help the chances that we figure out one of those pieces of the pie, it was worth it. And I will always sleep better at night knowing I at least tried to give something back, and hope that it benefits others at some point. It's a way better option than not trying.

[SandyG]

Bob,

Great sentiment, and similar circumstances of why I fold. Hope to give back to somehow help. I used to really like Seti@home until they shut down and found this, I think this was the something that after finding it as a replacement to spin CPU cycles I felt I was doing something better, and honestly my only concern for projects like this is that all the CPU cycles would help but a commercial entity would reap the benefits, then I re-calibrated my thinking a bit, and thought, doesn't matter at all as long as progress is being made to solve complex problems that can help folks. Now 2 years into FAH and hope that it helps with many of the research projects that are in the mix.

Sandy