Message boards : Number crunching : Dr. Baker receives $10m+ grant for Rosetta HIV research!
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Ethan Volunteer moderator Send message Joined: 22 Aug 05 Posts: 286 Credit: 9,304,700 RAC: 0 |
The story doesn't really go into if it's solely for Baker's lab, but he is quoted in the article. I'm sure he'll be around to let us know more soon. In the mean time, CONGRATS!!! http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/278100_aidsvaccine19ww.html -Ethan |
suguruhirahara Send message Joined: 7 Mar 06 Posts: 27 Credit: 116,020 RAC: 0 |
Congratulations! and keep working:) |
soriak Send message Joined: 25 Oct 05 Posts: 102 Credit: 137,632 RAC: 0 |
Well done and absolutly deserved! ;) And just imagine what kind of computer-farm you could build with $10m... think of the RAC! :p |
R/B Send message Joined: 8 Dec 05 Posts: 195 Credit: 28,095 RAC: 0 |
Wow! Congratulations..... I guess I won't have to scrape together mint stamps out of my collection to furnish to Feetfirst for the DVD mailings now. :-) There we go. Reminds me of the scene in the movie, 'Contact', where Dr. Arraway was told, "You have your money". Founder of BOINC GROUP - Objectivists - Philosophically minded rational data crunchers. ![]() ![]() |
Jose Send message Joined: 28 Mar 06 Posts: 820 Credit: 48,297 RAC: 0 |
One of the elements that impress me the most about the announcement is the requirement that all the groups that are sharing the awards money MUST share information and collaborate with each other. So not only is the grant a recognition of the great group of scientists that got funded but it is a call for more collaboration among scientists. My only hope now is that David doenst go conventional on us and get a haircut. :) |
Astro![]() Send message Joined: 2 Oct 05 Posts: 987 Credit: 500,253 RAC: 0 |
SELFISH POST AHEAD I do have one concern. Will this project now expend more of its research solely for HIV or will cancer still be a big part of this project? Since I'm a cancer patient, I'm here to try to help others not to have to go through what I am going through. Will the lessons learned extend into the cancer research field? tony |
![]() ![]() Send message Joined: 30 Dec 05 Posts: 1755 Credit: 4,690,520 RAC: 0 |
I haven't seen details about how they intend to use Rosetta to fight cancer... but yes, if they learn how to "dock" with an selective portion of an HIV protein (the portion that doesn't constantly morph itself), they'll have another tool in the toolbox to apply to locating and knocking out cancer cells. Actually, I believe their approach to HIV is to "design" a protein that looks similar enough to the unchanging portion of HIV that the body can build antibodies to it. So their current approach to HIV is, I believe, a vaccine. Not sure if the approach to cancer would be a vaccine or more of a drug, which would locate and dock with existing cancer cells and either genetically correct them back to normal, or prevent them from dividing. Either way, "docking" or "design", the basic research Rosetta does can be applied to the proteins of other diseases. ...another way to look at it, if they are successful at creating an HIV vaccine, it would make it VERY easy to get sufficient funding to apply towards cancer research. Hope your treatment is going well Tony. Add this signature to your EMail: Running Microsoft's "System Idle Process" will never help cure cancer, AIDS nor Alzheimer's. But running Rosetta@home just might! https://boinc.bakerlab.org/rosetta/ |
![]() Send message Joined: 5 Jan 06 Posts: 336 Credit: 80,939 RAC: 0 |
I think R's cancer-related approach was mostly focused on "gene therapy" kind of stuff, e.g. altering/creating DNA-modifying enzymes to repair damaged DNA The other, "traditional" approach would be to help in "virtual screening" of drugs (like CureCancer approach) by 1/ identifying target proteins (protein structure prediction) 2/ "docking" (i.e. use Rosetta.exe instead of DOCK, AutoDOCK, THINK, LigandFit etc) Best UFO Resources Wikipedia R@h How-To: Join Distributed Computing projects that benefit humanity |
![]() Volunteer moderator Project developer ![]() Send message Joined: 1 Jul 05 Posts: 154 Credit: 117,189,961 RAC: 0 |
SELFISH POST AHEAD Tony, For the foreseeable future the effort of R@H is actually cumulative in that what we learn on project A helps sharped the tools for project B as well. Not only that, HIV is only a portion of the research effort here. Big $$$ for the entire project consortium to be sure, but we only get some. We've got irons in a number of fires and those won't get pushed aside just because Gates dumped some $$$ on the overall project. On a personal note, here's hoping things go well for you. My family has been stricken by cancer.... I understand how tough it can be. -KEL |
Keith Akins Send message Joined: 22 Oct 05 Posts: 176 Credit: 71,779 RAC: 0 |
I see it this way, (By the way Congrats Team Baker!!!) Bill Gates and Mr. Buffet just stuck a pencil in the eye of WSJ after their negative article concerning virtual microbiology experiments using DC. Also, If Rosetta and other DC's can produce tangible results to the HIV problem, then the gates are wide open for every single protein related desease problem. Things would really start to happen. My opinion of Bill just went up a few points. |
![]() ![]() Send message Joined: 22 Mar 06 Posts: 14 Credit: 6,154,730 RAC: 51 |
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David Baker Volunteer moderator Project administrator Project developer Project scientist Send message Joined: 17 Sep 05 Posts: 705 Credit: 559,847 RAC: 0 |
IAlso, If Rosetta and other DC's can produce tangible results to the HIV problem, then the gates are wide open for every single protein related desease problem. Things would really start to happen. we feel the same way. the methods we are using to design potential HIV vaccines should be directly transferable to design of vaccines to other pathogens--basically, we design proteins that mimic critical regions on the pathogen to stimulate the immune system to make antibodies against these parts of the virus, bacteria, etc. while we are very excited about making a serious push towards an HIV vaccine, this will not reduce our efforts to develop new proteins to target genes causing cancer. in fact, Jim Havranak in my group has just had very exciting results on engineering an endonuclease to cut within a human disease gene. |
![]() Send message Joined: 5 Jan 06 Posts: 336 Credit: 80,939 RAC: 0 |
In case Dr Baker's last comment "our efforts to develop new proteins to target genes causing cancer. in fact, Jim Havranak in my group has just had very exciting results on engineering an endonuclease to cut within a human disease gene." isn't quite clear for those of us who are not familiar with their science, here's a more elaborate description of Rosetta's recent work applicable to cancer (from 1-Jun-06 edition of Nature):
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7093/index.html Nature Editor's Summary http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7093/edsumm/e060601-14.html Best UFO Resources Wikipedia R@h How-To: Join Distributed Computing projects that benefit humanity |
XS_Vietnam_Soldiers Send message Joined: 11 Jan 06 Posts: 240 Credit: 2,880,653 RAC: 0 |
Dr. Baker: I'd like to add my congratulations to you. Nicely done and well deserved. It's nice to see the Gates Foundation get into this area. I assume this means you can cut down the mac and cheese dinners to twice a week? Sorry, I had to. <BG> Movieman |
![]() ![]() Send message Joined: 18 Sep 05 Posts: 653 Credit: 11,786,769 RAC: 853 ![]() |
My opinion of Bill just went up a few points. Bill Gates is the worlds greatest philanthropist, these are grants made in the health sector alone so far this year! A lot of the guys critics should read some of that site. I would guess that the grant will be used to employ additional research staff, and support for them. I doubt there will be a reduction of emphasis on other areas because the grant was given for HIV research. Wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream. |
![]() ![]() Send message Joined: 2 Oct 05 Posts: 9 Credit: 786,697 RAC: 0 |
The world would be a much better place if all the rich and powerfull like Gates would put their money for a better use... ![]() |
Message boards :
Number crunching :
Dr. Baker receives $10m+ grant for Rosetta HIV research!
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