A project begun at Stanford in 2000 has found its way to the Playstation 3. I can’t say that I fully understand everything they are doing behind the scenes, but basically: “Folding@Home is a distributed computing project — people from through out the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world. Every computer makes the project closer to our goals.” (http://folding.stanford.edu/)

The overall goal? To understand the process of protein folding. Misfolded proteins lead to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and more, so understanding them could lead to a cure. For a really indepth look at this, read the article in the June 2007 issue of PSM. The project began as a PC-focused venture, but thanks to the power of the PS3, it’s “processing the given proteins approximately 20 times faster than most platforms involved in F@H.” (PSM, June 2007.) So far, there’s no mention of it being offered on other next gen platforms.

Once you load the client on your computer or PS3, join team GotNext. Add team number “70427″ in the appropriate field. Who said videogames weren’t good for society?