Give the cure for smallpox a little boost

[April]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...u=/ap/20030205/ap_on_hi_te/computers_smallpox


Idle Computers Could Seek Smallpox Cure
Wed Feb 5, 9:10 AM ET Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo!
By PAUL ELIAS, AP Biotechnology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - It's the ultimate needle-in-the-haystack search, but a coalition of scientists and technology companies think they may be able to make headway on a cure for smallpox using computer screen savers.

Their project aims to use the idle processing power of up to 2 million personal computers to sift through millions of molecular combinations in hopes of finding one that fights smallpox after infection.

Though smallpox vaccinations exist, there is no known cure to the disease once a person is infected.

Volunteers download a screen saver from www.grid.org that runs whenever their computers have resources to spare to perform computations for the project. When the user connects to the Internet, the computer sends data back to a central hub and gets another assignment.

More story at the above link.
I think it's pretty interesting, and I'm gonna give it a shot.
More people = more processing power = faster research.

 

[April]

*bump*

Am I on everyone's ignore list or something?

 

[SINthysist]

Is that what's behind all those signs I see asking me if I want to earn money from home with my computer?

 

[April]

Is that what's behind all those signs I see asking me if I want to earn money from home with my computer?

No.

Maybe it's the aliens trying to get you to return to the mother ship.

 

[SINthysist]

I doubt it. They used some pretty strong language when they dropped me off. Even for aliens...

 

[April]

LMAO

 

[Ljbonobo]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...u=/ap/20030205/ap_on_hi_te/computers_smallpox


Idle Computers Could Seek Smallpox Cure
Wed Feb 5, 9:10 AM ET Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo!
By PAUL ELIAS, AP Biotechnology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - It's the ultimate needle-in-the-haystack search, but a coalition of scientists and technology companies think they may be able to make headway on a cure for smallpox using computer screen savers.

Their project aims to use the idle processing power of up to 2 million personal computers to sift through millions of molecular combinations in hopes of finding one that fights smallpox after infection.

Though smallpox vaccinations exist, there is no known cure to the disease once a person is infected.

Volunteers download a screen saver from www.grid.org that runs whenever their computers have resources to spare to perform computations for the project. When the user connects to the Internet, the computer sends data back to a central hub and gets another assignment.

More story at the above link.
I think it's pretty interesting, and I'm gonna give it a shot.
More people = more processing power = faster research.

I'm using it. I also do a similar program for SETI. The search for extra terrestrial intelligence. You can't even tell they are running but yet you're helping out the scientific community.

 

[April]

Good for you. I tried running the program, but had trouble with it. So I uninstalled it. Unfortunately, the downloaded zip file went with it. *sigh* I'll try again this weekend. I want to help out in some way.