Fish Oil Protects Against Diseases Like Parkinson's

sciencedaily ^ | Apr. 20, 2009)

[JoeProBono]

Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Boyd Professor, and Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair of Retinal Degenerative Diseases Research at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will present new research findings showing that an omega three fatty acid in the diet protects brain cells by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's

....Dr. Bazan's laboratory discovered earlier that neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), a naturally-occurring molecule in the human brain that is derived from DHA also promotes brain cell survival. In this system NPD1 is capable of rescue the dying cells with the pathological type of Ataxin-1, keeping their integrity intact. "These experiments provide proof of principle that neuroprotectin D1 can be applied therapeutically to combat various neurodegenerative diseases," says Dr. Bazan. "Furthermore, this study provides the basis of new therapeutic approaches to manipulate retinal pigment epithelial cells to be used as a source of NPD1 to treat patients with disorders characterized by this mutation like Parkinson's, Retinitis Pigmentosa and some forms of Alzheimer's Disease."

[JoeProBono]

[b4its2late]

That’s the catfish that had the rubber ball in its’ mouth....

[Perdogg]

That, and the fact salmon is good, is why I eat a lot of salmon.

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

salmon is good

[jakerobins]

Geez..Last time I saw a face like this one it had a hook in it!! LOL

[Dr. Ursus]

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day;teach me to fish
and get rid of him for a weekend!

[Perdogg]

I ate so much smoked salmon in taiwan, they called me “salmon bear”, in Chinese of course.

[Pontiac]

Are you sure you got that right?

[Travis T. OJustice]

[texas booster]

Many have seen our postings on the FReeper Folding@home team, but for newcomers and those with new systems, please consider helping out.

Stanford University is running a distributed computing effort called Folding@home, which allows users to run a simulation of protein folding on our computers. Currently well over 420,000 computers are crunching the simulation trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease, along with other diseases that are related to misfolded proteins (prions).

Please consider joining the effort as part of team 36120 - Free Republic Folders - A Tribute to Ronald Reagan. We keep about 200 active FReepers and friends running the simulation on around 1,000 computers and Playstation 3.

Look here for more info:

http://folding.stanford.edu/

[texas booster]

Folding@Home FAQ for new users:

What is Folding@Home? A Stanford University project to find out how proteins fold.

Why it's important: Proteins folding wrong causes all kinds of diseases, like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and forms of cancer. Folding@Home uses novel computational methods and large scale distributed computing, to simulate timescales thousands to millions of times longer than previously achieved. Through Folding@home, scientists now have the horsepower to study the mechanics of protein folding. With its ability to share the workload among hundred of thousands of computers economically, Folding@home can help scientists understand how proteins snap, or don't, into their predestined shapes - and may help to explain the origins of diseases such as Alzheimer's and apparently unrelated diseases. We're fueling research that could end all that.

How does it work?: You download a safe, tested program (see link below) that is certified by Stanford University. It gets work from Stanford, runs calculations using your spare computer power, and sends the results back to the University.

Is it safe? Yes! Folding@Home rarely effects computer performance in any way and won't compromise your privacy in any way. It only uses the computing power you aren't using so it doesn't slow down other programs.

How do I get started folding for Team FreeRepublic?:
1.) Download the folding program from Stanford University's folding download page (Folding@home Client Download). Type in your desired user-name.
2.) Type in 36120 for the team number. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - if you get the number wrong, you won't be folding for team FreeRepublic!
3.) The third question asks, "Launch automatically at machine startup, installing this as a service?" - We recommend you answer YES. Otherwise you will have to manually start the program after every reboot.

How can my computer help? Even if they were given exclusive access to all of the world's supercomputers, Stanford still wouldn't have as much processing power as they get from the supercluster of people's desktop systems Folding@home relies on. Modern supercomputers are essentially a cluster of hundreds of processors linked by fast networking. But Stanford needed the power of hundreds of thousands of processors, not just hundreds.

There's no reason to not get involved! It's free, easy, and you can know you're helping every minute without lifting a finger.

*******************************************

List of Relevant Folding Links
Why Fold - Watch This !!

Another Folding Clip

The Inner Life of a Cell

Folding@home Client Download

FreeRepublic.com Folder Stats

Extreme Overclockers Stats for FreeRepublic

Another Stats Page

Folding@home New Forum

*******************************************
Competition (Not!!) Dummies ..Daily Kos

Dummie Folding Threads #7 #8 #9#10#11 #12
Hey DUmmies, can't ya'll post a new thread at least once a year?

**************************************************
Other Useful Stuff - Links

How much are those work units worth? And what are they?
All Projects Listed

Point Summary for Workunits

Stat Image Generator

Fahmon Third Party Monitoring Software

**************************************
Past FreeRepublic Folding threads

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20 #21 #22 #23 #24 #25 #26 #27 #28 #29 #30 #31 #32 #33 #34 #35 #36 #37 #38 #39 #40 #41 #42 #43 #44 #45 #46 #47 #48 #49 #50 #51

[ottbmare]

The question I always have is, if you take a supplement, does it survive the digestive system? And if it gets into the bloodstream in a satisfactory way, does it pass the blood-brain barrier and actually get into your brain where it can do some good? I’m unsure.

[AFreeBird]

Most nutrients and vitamins etc, are either absorbed in the stomach or the intestinal tracts. Vit-D through UV on the skin (usually).

I would think that natural molecules, if needed, can cross the BB barrier. And sometimes man made molecules can cross when it shouldn't. That last one has to do with what I've read about Lipitor. The brain makes it's own cholesterol (all cells need some, and it doesn't cross the BB barrier), but Lipitor crosses the BB barrier, and wreaks havoc with the brains own cholesterol levels, and can cause problems, like transient amnesia, and or worse.

[EasySt]

Dave, Texas, anyone...
I’ve been contemplating building a new computer lately, because I want to graduate from a two to a three monitor setup, as well as increase my folding power.

I have a 30 inch Extreme HD 1600p Gateway monitor that can run at 2560 X 1600 resolution(it’s only running at 1920 X 1200 now). I also have a couple of rotatable 24 inch monitors, which can run in portrait mode, at 1200 X 1920 resolution.

I have already collected two PNY GeForce 9800 GT 1GB cards on sale, which should drive each of the 24 inch monitors fine and could actually drive all three monitors together, however, I would really like to push the 30” 2560 X 1600 monitor as hard as possible, and still be able to use the two 24” monitors on either side at the same time.

For this I would like to use an ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 in CrossFire mode with itself. ( The ATI card has two GPU’s built into one device. )

The 30 inch monitor would plug into the ATI card, while each of the 24 inch monitors would plug into its own non-SLI mode 9800 GT card.

The system will run a quad core i7 processor, 6 Gigs or more of DDR3 Ram, a kilowatt power supply, and Windows XP Pro 64 (I read about Dave’s windows memory issue with running 4 cards under plain XP... ;-)

Questions:
is it possible to mix these cards like this?
The goal is to be able to drive the 30 inch monitor at high (CrossFire) frame rates without having it turn off or impact the portrait mode 24 inch monitors on either side.

Will it be possible with a setup like this to fold proteins on all four GPU’s at once? (The 2 on the ATI card, and one in each of the 9800GT’s...)

Motherboard/Power Supply/Case recommendations? (It will need three well spaced PCI-E slots... (The ATI is a double wide card.))

Alternatives to the ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 video card?

Any other thoughts or considerations?

Thanks for any help!

[texas booster]

David is the expert at GPU folding farms, but for now lookie here:

http://folding.stanford.edu/English/WinGPUGuide

http://foldingforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=3336

My first thoughts are:

Do not mix drivers from different video manufacturers in one system.

There are lots of cards that will provide for great folding. I would rather see you buy two ATI 4870 X2 cards that we know will work together, and that provide the power to hit your high resolution requirements.

Of course, it's your weekends and evenings that you'll be giving up!

Please keep us posted. We will be waiting for your GPU folding farm to hit the numbers page.

[EasySt]

Thanks texas,
good links and I’m sure I’ll be using them a great deal, but it’s got to do more than fold. This will also be my new primary work at home and gaming machine.

Priority one is having these three monitors active on one machine, providing for fast (or at least really good, considering...) full screen 2560x1600 frame rates on the 30” monitor, while still having the two 24” ones active and reasonably well powered themselves, on either side.

It will be used to run Lotus Notes, SameTime, various office suites, instant messengers, Dragon Naturally Speaking, electronic and mechanical design tools, photo and presentation tools, VoIP, video/web conferencing, and dozens of constantly open browser tabs and windows, not to mention games, DVDs and BluRay’s. (Pretty much like I do now, but with three monitors on one machine, instead of two on one machine and one on another...)

When I’m not otherwise keeping it engaged, I’d like it to also fold it’s little heart out...

I’m prepared for plenty of installation and configuration pain, but in the end, it has to deliver on my requirements.

It may be that CrossFire/SLI are not quite ready to do three monitor support the way I want. Would it be a better idea to get a GeForce GTX 280 or 285 for the 30”, and leave the two 24’s on a 9800GT each with no SLI enabled on any? Will a GTX 285 and a pair of 9800GTs play well together with no SLI involved? (I already have the two 9800 GT’s..)

[texas booster]

At first blush I would opt for an all-NVidia platform just to keep configuration issues manageable.

Watch out for the NVidias to ensure that you do not have any doping-heat related issues ( http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/703/1028703/nvidia-g84-g86-bad . Also make sure that the hardware vendor didn't just use a renamed chipset and bump the price up ( http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-radeon,2218.html ).

Still, there are a lot of reviews that will help you pick the right card for your needs.

[David Park]

Sorry for not spotting this thread earlier, especially when I’m about to mow you over, EasySt. :-)

First of all, I’ve never heard of anyone mixing ATI and Nvidia in the same box, and I see from the FoldingForum thread that it’s probably not going to work. The general recommendation is to keep all the cards as identical as possible (same shader count on each card is preferred — the 9800 GT has either 112 or 128 shaders depending on the exact model). I’ve also read that mixing GTX and non-GTX cards in the same box tends not to work. I’ve avoided trouble by keeping my cards identical in each box.

I think you’re right that SLI probably isn’t what you want for a multi-monitor setup. The GTX 285 is a great folder and should drive your 30” with monitor with no problems, but I don’t know if it’ll work with your other cards. The best option might be to buy two GTX 260s (which cost about the same as one GTX 285), use those to drive all your monitors, and put the 9800 GTs in a second machine. I took a quick look at some reviews, and the GTX 260 will do 2560 x 1600. You could power the 30” with one card and the other monitors with the second card. If you really want to keep the 9800 GTs, then ask over at FoldingForum; they’re the experts on what works together and what doesn’t. I’ve heard of people mixing cards and getting it to work, but often it hurts folding performance, and there are no guarantees.

When shopping for cards, Nvidia cards still generate more points than ATI, but the ATI software continues to improve. Definitely look for newer 55nm chipsets, because the heat difference is big. If you go with the GTX 260, get the 216-shader model, which is better for folding. You might want to look at some of the new cards that have twice the RAM, but check the reviews to see if it’s worth it.

Finally, I use XP x64 on my box with quad 9800GX2s for three reasons. First, the memory issues, but any 64-bit OS will solve those. Second, I don’t have any monitors hooked to the machine, and Vista/Windows 7 require monitors (or dummy plugs) to be connected to all cards. Since you have monitors, this won’t affect you. Third, Vista has problems with a lot of GPUs in the same machine, and definitely doesn’t support eight. I don’t know the exact limit in Vista (check FoldingForum), but I know two cards will work, so if you went with dual GTX 260s for example, you could choose Vista instead of XP if you wanted.

[David Park]

I forgot to mention motherboards. The favorite board for multi-card folding is the MSI K9A2 Platinum. It’s an AMD/Crossfire board, but the ATI chipset is reported to be better for folding than Nvidia boards. You can’t do SLI, but the only reason for SLI is if you want to do a lot of gaming on your 30” at full resolution and maximum framerates. Certainly Crossfire with ATI cards is an option. And with fewer cards, lots more motherboard options are available.

If you like Intel and want to spend some extra money, there are Core i7 motherboards that will support both Crossfire and SLI. I have DFI Lanparty JR X58-T3H6 which is micro-ATX, but there are full-size ATX boards that are similar.

I think a 1000W PSU should power whatever you want, as long as it’s a quality brand. Make sure to check the number of 6/8-pin PCIE power connectors; you want four. Really, depending on the # of video cards, you probably don’t need that much power, but it’s also nice to have some overhead so that you’re in the midrange of the PSU’s capacity when folding. I think 750W is plenty for a two-card system.

Cases are a personal preference, but the best cheap case in my opinion is the Antec Three Hundred. It has a nicely spaced vent right over the graphics cards, as well as good overall airflow. Heat isn’t as big a problem with the new cards, though. My quad 9800GX2 box heats my condo (literally), but my GTX 285 is so cool that I didn’t even change the default fan speed. Your 8800GT cards are probably reasonably cool, but monitor the temps anyway. I have dual 8800GS cards that run pretty cool but I set the fans to 100%. I stopped folding on my old 8800GTS (90nm chip) because it ran so much hotter. For long-term folding, heat and electricity use are the biggest concerns.