Scientists have mapped the folding sequence of proteins using thousands of computers connected through the Internet.
They say the achievement marks the first time data culled from distributed computing has appeared in a scientific journal.
Distributed computing is the use of the collective processing power of idle computers to take on complex mathematical calculations.
The achievement by Stanford University scientists Christopher D. Snow and Vijay S. Pande has been published in Nature magazine.
Protein molecules undergo a complex folding process to achieve their unique, three-dimensional shape.
Understanding that process could lead to greater understanding of diseases.
Every protein molecule consists of a chain of amino acids that must assume a specific three-dimensional shape to function normally.
When they mis-fold they can clump together, forming aggregates in the brain that have been observed in patients with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases.
The scientists were able to simulate part of the complex folding process of a typical protein molecule using 30,000 personal computers linked to the Folding@Home scheme by special screensaver software.
Distributed computing is already being used to crunch telescope data in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and in drug design.