Predictor@home
Encyclopedia
Predictor@home was a distributed computing
project that used BOINC.
It was established by The Scripps Research Institute
to predict protein structure
from protein sequence in the context of the 6th biannual CASP
, or Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction. A major goal of the project was the testing and evaluating of new algorithms to predict both known and unknown protein structures.
The project was most recently run by the University of Michigan
.
Predictor@home was complementary to Folding@home
.
Whereas the latter aims to study the dynamics of protein folding
, Predictor@home aimed to specify what the final tertiary structure
will be. Also, the two projects differ significantly in the infrastructure they use. Predictor@home used BOINC, whereas Folding@home maintains its own software completely outside of BOINC.
However, for a time, Predictor@home competed with other BOINC protein structure prediction projects, such as Rosetta@home
. Each uses different methods of rapidly and reliably predicting the final tertiary structure.
Predictor@home is currently inactive.
In May, 2008, the project reverted to Alpha status, in that it is experimenting with new methods.
Over the summer of 2008, the project servers were moved to the University of Michigan.
Since December, 2008, the project has not sent out any work for some months. BOINC stats sites are unable to obtain updated XML data, as this has been suspended by the project team.
On June 10, 2009, the Predictor@home web site and forums ceased to function and appear to have been shut down.
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
project that used BOINC.
It was established by The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
to predict protein structure
Protein structure prediction
Protein structure prediction is the prediction of the three-dimensional structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence — that is, the prediction of its secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure from its primary structure. Structure prediction is fundamentally different from the inverse...
from protein sequence in the context of the 6th biannual CASP
CASP
CASP, which stands for Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction, is a community-wide, worldwide experiment for protein structure prediction taking place every two years since 1994...
, or Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction. A major goal of the project was the testing and evaluating of new algorithms to predict both known and unknown protein structures.
The project was most recently run by the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
.
Predictor@home was complementary to Folding@home
Folding@home
Folding@home is a distributed computing project designed to use spare processing power on personal computers to perform simulations of disease-relevant protein folding and other molecular dynamics, and to improve on the methods of doing so...
.
Whereas the latter aims to study the dynamics of protein folding
Protein folding
Protein folding is the process by which a protein structure assumes its functional shape or conformation. It is the physical process by which a polypeptide folds into its characteristic and functional three-dimensional structure from random coil....
, Predictor@home aimed to specify what the final tertiary structure
Tertiary structure
In biochemistry and molecular biology, the tertiary structure of a protein or any other macromolecule is its three-dimensional structure, as defined by the atomic coordinates.-Relationship to primary structure:...
will be. Also, the two projects differ significantly in the infrastructure they use. Predictor@home used BOINC, whereas Folding@home maintains its own software completely outside of BOINC.
However, for a time, Predictor@home competed with other BOINC protein structure prediction projects, such as Rosetta@home
Rosetta@home
Rosetta@home is a distributed computing project for protein structure prediction on the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing platform, run by the Baker laboratory at the University of Washington...
. Each uses different methods of rapidly and reliably predicting the final tertiary structure.
Predictor@home is currently inactive.
History
On September 6, 2006, Predictor@home was temporarily taken off line, with no new work units being sent out.In May, 2008, the project reverted to Alpha status, in that it is experimenting with new methods.
Over the summer of 2008, the project servers were moved to the University of Michigan.
Since December, 2008, the project has not sent out any work for some months. BOINC stats sites are unable to obtain updated XML data, as this has been suspended by the project team.
On June 10, 2009, the Predictor@home web site and forums ceased to function and appear to have been shut down.
See also
- List of distributed computing projects
- Rosetta@homeRosetta@homeRosetta@home is a distributed computing project for protein structure prediction on the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing platform, run by the Baker laboratory at the University of Washington...
- SIMAPSIMAPSimilarity Matrix of Proteins, or SIMAP, is a database of protein similarities created using distributed computing, which is freely accessible for scientific purposes...
- Grid computingGrid computingGrid computing is a term referring to the combination of computer resources from multiple administrative domains to reach a common goal. The grid can be thought of as a distributed system with non-interactive workloads that involve a large number of files...
- Protein structure predictionProtein structure predictionProtein structure prediction is the prediction of the three-dimensional structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence — that is, the prediction of its secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure from its primary structure. Structure prediction is fundamentally different from the inverse...