We know the PlayStation 3 has already made its mark on Stanford University's Folding@home distributed computing project, ever since the functionality was incorporated into the console's XrossMediaBar via the March firmware update. Sony Computer Entertainment explains that the collective of PS3s volunteering their processing muscle continues to make strides in simulating protein folds in a variety of cell environments for the purposes of medical research.
What's more, the company promises to make Folding@home even better on the PS3 with a new application update, available tomorrow, which will improve folding calculation speeds, increase visibility of PS3 volunteers, and upping the maximum character limits for donor/team names.

"The PS3 turnout has been amazing, greatly exceeding our expectations and allowing us to push our work dramatically forward," said Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home program lead. "Thanks to PS3, we have performed simulations in the first few weeks that would normally take us more than a year to calculate. We are now gearing up for new simulations that will continue our current studies of Alzheimer’s and other diseases."

"We continue to be thrilled with the ongoing contributions of the PS3 user community in helping the Folding@home program study the causes of many different diseases that afflict our society," said Masayuki Chatani, Corporate Executive and CTO Computer, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "As we move forward, we are issuing a call to action for all PS3 owners around the world to download the Folding@home application and help this cause. These PS3 fans can also be part of history as the Folding@home distributed computing program inches closer to achieving a petaflop – a measure of computing power that has never before been reached."

Wolfwood via gamesindustry.biz »