Images: Harnessing PS3 power for Folding@home

Beginning March 23, PlayStation 3 users will be able to connect their consoles online to Stanford University's Folding@home project, allowing researchers to tap into the machines' substantial processing power as they study a process called protein folding. A principal objective of the research is to better understand not only the process of protein folding--the folding of protein strands into the three-dimensional molecules that determine their biological function--but how incorrectly folded proteins lead to serious diseases such as cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.