Col323, I've updated the experiment table. We've recently begun folding Rice, and will probably be doing so for some time. The Rice proteome is huge, and we wanted to hold off and finish some smaller organisms before committing to it. We may slip in some work units with high priority here and there, but most likely we'll all be crunching for the "Arabidopsis Folding Project." (http://homepages.nyu.edu/~rb133/#funding) until the end of the year.

In other news, we've been developing a paper that will publish the complete scale and scope of the work being done with the WCG. I will try and put together a status update to talk about it a little.
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Patrick

Sekerob, I can't say much about the methods they use for protein folding nor about the kind of research they use their models for because I just don't know. However, I'm sure there are many aspects in which we differ. While their project is only folding the Rice proteome, we've focused on a host of organisms in order to build a large resource. In terms of methods and software (which is the step of our research that the WCG is involved in) we use different paradigms: Rosetta vs Protinfo. Here's a snip from their project FAQ.



While I'm sure there may be some overlap in the goals of our projects (predicting protein structure and function), I'm convinced that our methods are very different. In regards to the differences in the kind of experiments and research that our structure predictions support, I can't say much, but again I'm sure that the projects head in different directions. Our project is about providing a useful resource for biologists studying a variety of topics: immunology, virulence, cell processes, cellular differentiation, etc. We fold many different organisms and make predictions for proteins that cover all aspects of biology. With the publication of our database and results we hope to make contributions in many different areas of research.

Personally, I think it would be good for volunteers to support "complementary and competitive" ideas in the pursuit of a richer scientific knowledge, but I'll admit I'm only crunching for HPF (supporting the home team). If you were to feel differently I would encourage you to investigate the websites and publications of the labs you're considering supporting.
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Patrick

A update coming soon?

Hello martin64 ,
Welcome to the wonderful world of comparative genetics/proteomics. HPF2 is collecting data on many species in the hope that a discovery made about one group of proteins in one species will illuminate general rules in analogous proteins in many other species - fungus, plant and animal.

NRW is concentrating on rice.

Lawrence

Hello martin64,
The idea is that a lot of scientists concentrate on just a few species, such as certain types of yeast. If such a scientist discovers how a group of proteins interact in yeast, then it may be possible to find an analogous group of proteins in distant cousins that act similarly, even though each protein is shaped differently. It may be possible to trace an evolutionary chain all the way to humans, in effect transferring a discovery from yeast to human beings.

Lawrence