EASY COVID-19 SUPPORT: Volunteer for Rosetta@home Protein Folding

If you have a computer or Android phone, you can start supporting COVID-19 research within 10 minutes! Rosetta@home is an organization that accepts volunteers to run protein folding simulations, which helps scientists identify the 3D shape of proteins. All you have to do is sign up and download the program--it will handle the rest!

With the COVID-19 pandemic, Rosetta@home is focusing on simulations related to the disease. Joining the Rosetta@home community is a super simple way to contribute to drug research and fight this disease.

• Computer or Android phone

Setup Steps

1. Download and install the program from https://boinc.bakerlab.org/join.php. The program is called BOINC.
2. Run the program. You should be presented with a screen that says "Choose a project". In the "Project URL" field, type http://boinc.bakerlab.org/rosetta/
3. The next page will have you create an account.
4. Once you've created the account, you're done! The program is already running simulations.
5. Optional: After you create your account, it opens a webpage that lets you join a team. If you join my team at this link, I'd greatly appreciate it! You receive "credits" as your computer completes tasks and you can see your progress on a team leaderboard. If you joined my team, see our leaderboard here!

Tips and Tricks

• It's normal for the folding tasks to take a long time.
• If you're on a laptop, it will not run folding tasks if your laptop is unplugged.
• I recommend adjusting your computer's settings to prevent it from falling asleep. This can prevent the folding tasks from completing.
• If desired, you can set it to only run folding tasks when you're not using your computer:

BOINC app > "Options" in the top menu bar > Computing preferences... > Suspend when computer is in use

• There is a graphics viewer that shows visually what the program is rendering:

BOINC app > Task Commands > Show graphics

• There is an advanced view that shows the individual tasks being run:

BOINC app > "View" in the top menu bar of your Mac > Advanced View...

Setup Steps

1. Install the BOINC app from the Google Play Store.
2. Open BOINC. You should see a list of projects. Scroll until you find Rosetta@home, tap it, and tap Continue.
3. It will ask you to enter your account info. Since you don't have an account, it will create one for you using the info you enter.
4. At this point, you should be good to go! The BOINC app will run the folding tasks whenever your screen is off and your phone is charging.

5. Optional: After you create your account, it opens a webpage that lets you join a team. If you join my team at this link, I'd greatly appreciate it! You receive "credits" as your Mac completes tasks and you can see your progress on a team leaderboard. If you joined my team, see our leaderboard here!

Tips and Tricks

• It's normal for the folding tasks to take a long time.
• It will only run the folding tasks while the screen is off and the phone is charging.

Problems setting up?

Feel free to reach out to me at drew.robert26@me.com and I'd be glad to help.

Additional Resources

Rosetta@home website: https://boinc.bakerlab.org/rosetta/

Rosetta@home Twitter: https://twitter.com/RosettaAtHome

Rosetta@home Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta@home

Thank You!

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading through the Instructable and contributing to Rosetta@home. Drop a comment if you have any feedback.