How You Can Help Find a Cure for Ebola

December 8, 2014 By IdeaConnection

Ebola_virus_emThe Ebola outbreak may be fading from the headlines, but it is still a huge problem that is claiming thousands of lives.  To help speed up the development of a definitive cure for the devastating disease, the Scripps Research Institute is enlisting members of the crowd to use their computer downtime to carry out critical research.

Erica Ollmann Saphire, a Professor at Scripps, said: “We have the information in my lab that will tell us how to fight it [the virus]. But we need computational power to calculate which drugs will best fit in the targets that we find.”

Anybody with a PC or mobile device that runs on the Android platform can help perform the research. No scientific knowledge is necessary.  Members of the public can download a free app that takes advantage of idle computer time. It is available at IBM’s World Community Grid that has a host of data-driven initiatives.

The crowdsourced efforts will help scientists at Scripps with their screening process for chemical compounds. They are looking to stop the virus from infecting new cells by targeting its molecular machinery.

The Crowd Can Deliver Rapid Results

According to Professor Saphire, this crowd-based initiative has the potential to slash hundreds of years off research time, delivering results in a matter of weeks.  With such a rapidly spreading virus, time and speed are of the essence.

The project is called ‘Outsmart Ebola Together and can be found here.


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Reader Comments


There is a cure for Ebola! It is not drugs.
Why are these native viruses being acquired by native citizens Africa (HIV, Ebola)? HIV is only a form of SIV from certain monkeys found in Africa. How is it that the fruit bat's naturally occurring virus has spread to humans in such a horrific manner? The fruit bat is indigenous to the rain forest. Why are native Africans suffering to poverty, disease, famine and war? What us so important about Africa that research is being performed there? If the fruit bat is in its habitat (ecosystem) then the people are not in harms way. The fruit bat has existed at least over 1,000 years as most animals can in their natural habitat. All organisms carry a microorganism of some sort that is synergistic. So the fruit bat (ebola virus) is only functional in their own habitat. Outside its habitat increases morbidity and mortality to other organisms and ecosystems. Yet, the spread of this virus is so extensive that Natives of Africa on the West Coast are affected? This does not make sense. When the Ebola Virus is in its natural habitat (fruit bat) and the fruit bat is in its natural habitat, West Coast Africans should not be in an epidemic. Research opens doors like a Pandora's Box. The lay person has to deal with the wilds of man's imagination. The Ebola Virus belongs in its natural habitat just like any other virus which are biologically synergistic to that particular organism. When did Ebola reach the pivotal point like the action potential (all or none). How long did it take to become an Epidemic? When did research first begin on the Ebola Virus and WHY?
Posted by LaVera on December 10, 2014

A cure for Ebola has already been found through removal of the Ebola virus from the blood stream of an infected individual. Aethlon Medical Inc. has a hemopurifier that will extract the virus and return patient to good health. This process can also be used to extract exosomes from blood stream as a method for early detection of cancer in the body. This technology should be expedited through trials and tested on humans who have explored all other current treatment possibilities.
Posted by Richard Langevin on December 10, 2014

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