Sam Cho and his students at Wake Forest University are using graphics processing units – also called GPUs or graphics cards – to explore the biomolecular processes in the cell and take on challenges, including a cure for cancer. “We have hijacked the same technology that creates the detailed gaming scenes on your computer screen to perform molecular-dynamic simulations,” Cho said. For his most recent published study, Cho simulated the folding and unfolding of a critical RNA molecule component of the human telomerase enzyme. This enzyme lengthens DNA strands during cell division and only exists in cancerous cells. It’s what makes tumors continue to grow. Knowing how human telomerase works could lead to cancer therapies that essentially obliterate tumors, Cho said.