Editing Genome@home

{{Short description|Defunct volunteer computing project}}
'''Genome@home''' was a [[volunteer computing]] project run by [[Stefan Larson]] of [[Stanford University]], and a sister project to [[Folding@home]]. Its goal was [[protein design]] and its applications, which had implications in many fields including [[medicine]]. Genome@home was run by the [[Vijay Pande|Pande]] Lab.<ref name="G@h FAQ">{{Cite news | url = http://genomeathome.stanford.edu/faq.html | title = Genome@home FAQ | author = Pande lab | publisher = [[Stanford University]] | format = FAQ | accessdate = 2011-09-05 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110727132320/http://genomeathome.stanford.edu/faq.html | archive-date = 2011-07-27 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==Function==
Following the [[Human Genome Project]], scientists needed to know the biological and medical implications of the resulting wealth of genetic information. Genome@home used spare processing power on [[personal computer]]s to virtually design [[gene]]s that match existing [[protein]]s, although it can also design new proteins that have not been found in nature.<ref name="What is G@h">{{Cite news | url = http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/genome/using.html | title = What is Genome@home? | author = Pande lab | publisher = [[Stanford University]] | accessdate = 2011-11-30 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204024628/http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/genome/using.html | archive-date = 2011-12-04 | url-status = live }}</ref> This process is computationally demanding, so distributed computing is a viable option. Researchers can use the results from the project to gain a better understanding of the [[evolution]] of natural [[genome]]s and proteins, and their functionality. This project had applications in [[medical therapy]], new [[pharmaceutical]]s, and assigning functions to newly sequenced genes.<ref name="What is G@h"/>

Genome@home directly studied genomes and proteins by virtually designing new sequences for existing 3-D protein structures, which other scientists obtained through [[X-ray crystallography]] or [[NMR]] techniques. By understanding the relationship between the sequences and specific protein structures, the Pande lab tackled contemporary issues in [[structural biology]], [[genetics]], and [[medicine]].<ref name="G@h FAQ"/>

Specifically, the Genome@home project aided the understanding of why thousands of different [[amino acid]] sequences all form the same structures and assisted the fields of [[proteomics]] and [[structural genomics]] by predicting the functions of newly discovered genes and proteins. It also had implications in [[medical therapy]] by designing and virtually creating new versions of existing proteins.<ref name="G@h FAQ"/> Genome@home's software was designed for [[uniprocessor]] systems. It begins with a large set of potential sequences, and repeatedly searches through and refines these sequences until a well-designed sequence is found. It then sends this sequence to the server, and repeats the process.<ref name="G@h FAQ"/>

==Conclusion==
For financial reasons, the project was officially concluded on March 8, 2004, although data was still collected until April 15. Following its completion, users were asked to donate to [[Folding@home]] instead.<ref name="G@h FAQ"/><ref name="G@h News">{{Cite news | url = http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/genome/new.html | title = Genome@home Updates | date = 2004-03-04 | accessdate = 2011-11-30 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121002154635/http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/genome/new.html | archive-date = 2012-10-02 | url-status = live }}</ref>

==Results==
It accumulated a large database of protein sequences, which will be used for important scientific purposes for years by the Pande Lab and other scientists across the world.<ref name="G@h FAQ" /><ref name="G@h News"/>

Four [[peer-reviewed]] [[scientific publications]] have resulted from Genome@home.<ref name="Publications">{{Cite news | url = http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/genome/science/index.html | title = Genome@home Scientific Results | author = Pande lab | publisher = [[Stanford University]] | accessdate = 2011-11-30 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204024624/http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/genome/science/index.html | archive-date = 2011-12-04 | url-status = live }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of volunteer computing projects]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Genome at home}}
[[Category:Bioinformatics]]
[[Category:volunteer computing projects]]