NASA Conference: Astrobiology Discovery will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life!

NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.

For NASA TV streaming video and downlink information, visit:  http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

From: Nasa

Trial launched into neuroblastoma child cancer !

Scientists are to test if boosting the immune system can prevent the return of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma.

The disease - a cancer of developing nervous system tissue - is most often found in under-fives and accounts for about a sixth of child cancer deaths.

The Trial -
Works by hunting down neuroblastoma cells that have survived conventional treatment and attaching antibodies to specific molecules on their surface.
These antibodies then mobilise the body's immune defences to attack and destroy the cells.


More information about neuroblastoma

From BBC News

A new link between Autism and protein folding!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100910142751.htm

Folding@Home Goal: to understand protein folding, misfolding and related diseases!

Folding@home is a distributed computing project - people from throughout the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world. Every computer takes the project closer to our goals. Folding@home uses novel computational methods coupled to distributed computing, to simulate problems millions of times more challenging than previously achieved.

Protein folding is linked to disease, such as Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers
Moreover, when proteins do not fold correctly (i.e. "misfold"), there can be serious consequences, including many well known diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers and cancer-related syndromes.

What is protein folding?
Proteins are biology's workhorses -- its "nanomachines." Before proteins can carry out these important functions, they assemble themselves, or "fold." The process of protein folding, while critical and fundamental to virtually all of biology, in many ways remains a mystery.

You can help scientists studying these diseases by simply running a piece of software. 

The science behind Folding@home

World Commynity Grid

World Community Grid brings people together from across the globe to create the largest non-profit computing grid benefiting humanity. It does this by pooling surplus computer processing power. We believe that innovation combined with visionary scientific research and large-scale volunteerism can help make the planet smarter. Our success depends on like-minded individuals - like you.

Projects

Help us find ways to produce cleaner water.
Can one person make a difference?
Yes you can! Donate your unused computer time to World Community Grid and the Computing for Clean Water project to find more efficient and lower-cost methods for producing clean water.

We help researchers conquer cancer.
Why not donate your unused computer time to World Community Grid and the Help Conquer Cancer project to help scientists better understand and treat cancer through the discovery of proteins involved in cancer, and their function?

We're helping treat Muscular Dystrophy.
Why not donate your unused computer time to World Community Grid and the Help Cure Muscular Dystrophy project to help develop better treatments for muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular diseases?

We're helping develop affordable solar energy.
Why not donate your unused computer time to World Community Grid and The Clean Energy Project to help discover new materials that efficiently capture and store solar radiation as energy for later use?

Help develop new cures for diseases. 
Donate your unused computer time to World Community Grid and the Human Proteome Folding project to help researchers discover the function of human proteins that might end up being useful as therapeutic drugs. 

We're helping fight childhood cancer. 
Why not donate your unused computer time to World Community Grid and the Help Fight Childhood Cancer project to help find drugs to disable proteins associated with the most frequently occurring solid tumors in children? 

World Community Grid announces that members have returned more than 551 million results, Total Run Time of 407,499 years and 533,643 Members. 
LTDAkiles:  It's all about getting research done. Over 400 000 years. WOW!