Does the Rosetta@home project have any applications/impact on the treatment of Mitochondrial Diseases? If so, how?

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anything to do with proteins so yeah - I don't think there's any reason why not. I've not heard mention specifically of any mitochondrial proteins being analysed yet though, but then the main focus of Rosetta hasn't been directly for treatments (although there are some in testing for HIV) - it's more about improving the quality of the models that the software can produce ATM.

Do you have a mitochondrial target/disease in mind?

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anything to do with proteins so yeah - I don't think there's any reason why not. I've not heard mention specifically of any mitochondrial proteins being analysed yet though, but then the main focus of Rosetta hasn't been directly for treatments (although there are some in testing for HIV) - it's more about improving the quality of the models that the software can produce ATM.

Do you have a mitochondrial target/disease in mind?

Actually I do, my daughter has a condition called (OTC) Ornithine TransCaboxamalayse.. she fails to complete the urea cycle (failure to produce enough ornithine) ... I am hoping this research will help with all metabolic disorders.. or at least this reasearch can help with a treatment for her and other disorders..

I don't have the medical background required to comment on your question. Perhaps you could point us to more information?? I actually shot a blank on Google when I used "Ornithine TransCaboxamalayse" for my searchwords. It didn't even offer to search under a different spelling.

Is the condition considered to be a genetic disorder? I guess you characterized it as a metabolic disorder. Many metabolic functions in the body are regulated by messages in the form of enzymes. And enzymes are comprised of proteins. The specific shape that an enzyme has basically determines how it will act within the body, what it will bind with etc. And yes, Rosetta's goal is to improve the understanding of the protein shape, and to accurately predict what shape it will take, without ever seeing it.

To say that Rosetta will some day help your daughter is a stretch. But if you view the cure to her condition as being at the top of a ladder, Rosetta is helping to climb several of the steps that will be required for medical science to further build upon to devise a cure.

Actually, it might be a better analogy to view the cure as being high within a tree, and Rosetta is building a ladder capable of stretching high enough, and later medical science will climb that ladder to devise a cure. And once the "ladder" is completed, medical science will be able to use it to climb other "trees" to cure other diseases, and create vaccines as well.

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Rosetta Moderator: Mod.Sense

I found 'orthinine transcarbamoylase' or 'orthinine decarboxylase'...

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I got quite a few links from Health On The Net searching with OTC ornithine.

Though I couldn't find the specific spelling Ornithine TransCaboxamalayse.

Edit:

I should say, Health On The Net to quote them

Health On the Net Foundation is the leading organization promoting and guiding the deployment of useful and reliable online medical and health information, and its appropriate and efficient use. Created in 1995, HON is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, accredited to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (read more on HON