Something you can do to help

These ingenious scientists have developed a way we can all pitch in to find a treatment for COVID-19

As Makers, we can't stand feeling helpless but like almost everyone, we too have been feeling helpless in the face of this global pandemic. It’s time for us to all do something to battle this virus and there’s a way everyone can pitch in to help.

You might recall the words of the great modern philosopher Mr. Rogers who said "look for the helpers" to help comfort children in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This is powerful advice for youngsters when they confront huge challenges like what we are facing today. But as an adult, we may want to BE the helpers. We have stocked our fridges, purchased an appropriate amount of toilet paper and filled our gas tanks. But what more can we do to assist beyond just preparing ourselves and our families and practicing social distancing?

One MAKING IT IN CUBA supporter messaged us on Monday with a link to a new project by a group called Folding@home. This ingenious computing system was developed nearly 20 years ago at Stanford University to determine the mechanisms of protein misfolding, the biological process by which certain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's originate.

Today, by using the resources of personal computers owned by thousands of volunteers from all over the world, the project has expanded from its early mission and now includes complex simulations for drug design including work to develop a potential treatment for COVID-19 victims.

So why are we posting this?

The keys to Folding@home's success are the volunteers who connect their idle computers to Folding@home's massive computing network. You too can pitch in your computer's processing power to assist in this immense task by installing the Folding@home software. The application downloads datasets to your computer, crunches the numbers in the background and sends the results back to the lab working on the COVID-19 virus treatment.

If you decide to install the app, join our team "making_it_in_cuba" by entering 242108 as shown in the Folding@home application "Team number" configuration.

We all have the ability to create ingenious solutions to the complex challenges of life. Joining this project to help develop a treatment may be a small step toward empowering you in the face of this tremendous challenge before us now. Hopefully it will remind you of the power within each of us to affect change through simple actions.

Stay safe!

Levi C. Maaia
Director

Noah Mark
Executive Producer

P.S. We're still working hard (remotely) on the updated sizzle reel with footage from our January scout. We'll have an update on that soon!