via IGN
Although most people are getting a PS3 to fight aliens and race cars round tracks, a innovative new feature that sees PS3s linking together to fight incurable diseases, launches later this month.
Folding@Home is a joint venture between Sony and Stanford University in America. It aims to map the way that genes change shape (or 'fold'), so they can be studied by scientists and, potentially, cure illnesses such as Parkinson's or a variety of cancers.
PS3 owners can get involved in the Folding@Home project by downloading a firmware update, available by the end of the month, which adds a new icon to the cross media bar. When opened, Folding@Home starts processing a 'work unit', which is one section of an entire folding programme. Unfortunately no games can be played and you can't watch Blu-ray discs while the programme is running.
After completing one 'work unit' the console then sends the information to Stanford's servers next time it goes online and is given a new unit to start unravelling. The console doesn't even need to be online while running the Folding@Home function because it automatically updates every time the console is taken online.
Although it may sound like the stuff of science fiction, if enough PS3 owners choose to help with the initiative, it could potentially halve the time needed to complete a full gene folding simulation.
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