The Rosetta Project

[NaughtyLil1]

Has anyone heard of this?

SEATTLE - Researcher David Baker believes the key to an AIDS vaccine or a cure for cancer may be that old PC sitting under a layer of dust in your closet or the one on your desk doing little else but running a screen saver. Those outdated or idle computers may be just what Baker needs to turn his ideas into scientific breakthroughs.

The project sends work to computers that have installed the necessary free software. When the machine is idle, it figures out how an individual protein _ a building block of life _ might fold or contort, displaying the possibilities in a screen saver. When the PC is done crunching, it sends the results back to Baker's team and grabs more work.

If there's enough interest, we can form a Lit team.

Read about it here

 

[Shaq]

With online predators in full swing I believe that the PC in front of us maybe the key to how AIDS and chlamydia spreads.

 

[alabama]

Um...I don't get it.

 

[Shaq]

Um...I don't get it.

Sudden confusion and disorientation is a symtom of AIDS and Chlamydia.

 

[Killswitch]

No thanks.

Im not letting anyone access my pc but me.

 

[alabama]

That explains a lot...

 

[Killswitch]

That explains a lot...

They want to network with your home computer and utilize its memory and processing capabilities.

I dont see why he doesn't buy a powerful computer of his own.

 

[MinkSoul]

Um...I don't get it.

It's like the SETI project... they break down a BIG project into itty bitty parts and farm those parts out to thousands (or more) computers over the internet.

 

[alabama]

They want to network with your home computer and utilize its memory and processing capabilities.

I dont see why he doesn't buy a powerful computer of his own.

That's what I figured.

Now....where are these bits you were talking about???

 

[Killswitch]

And what happens if this guys crunching numbers when I want to crunch some porn?

lol

 

[MinkSoul]

They want to network with your home computer and utilize its memory and processing capabilities.

I dont see why he doesn't buy a powerful computer of his own.

There might not be one.

 

[IndieSnob]

Yep, it's just another DC (distributed computing) project.

You download bits of data and run passes through it (decoding), and then uploading the finished data back to the main server database.

They've done this for cancer, aids, high-end math computations, signals from space, etc . etc.

 

[Cathleen]

Very interesting. How much space do they need? Is this potentionally dangerous in an identity theft kind of way?

I'd be interested. I participate in a lot of medical studies now so if my computer can help I'd do it.

 

[IndieSnob]

Very interesting. How much space do they need? Is this potentionally dangerous in an identity theft kind of way?

I'd be interested. I participate in a lot of medical studies now so if my computer can help I'd do it.

The packets are usually very small in size (a few megs in space).

As far as ID theft, none have ever been reported, as the data is stored is it's own directories, and has no executable to read, copy, move, etc. etc your own data.

 

[Cathleen]

The packets are usually very small in size (a few megs in space).

As far as ID theft, none have ever been reported, as the data is stored is it's own directories, and has no executable to read, copy, move, etc. etc your own data.

Cool! Thank you.

Naughty, I'm in, no brainer for me. Hell I've given more then my blood for ALS, Breast Cancer, kidney and liver diseases - this is easy.

 

[IndieSnob]

Cool! Thank you.

Naughty, I'm in, no brainer for me. Hell I've given more then my blood for ALS, Breast Cancer, kidney and liver diseases - this is easy.

Good for you on the ALS front.

It's an unfortunate disease that has run in my family. My Dad passed from it in 2002, and his grandfather and grandfather's sister both passed from it 30 years earlier. Unfortunately, most national funding for research on it has been dwindled to nothing.

 

[Cathleen]

Good for you on the ALS front.

It's an unfortunate disease that has run in my family. My Dad passed from it in 2002, and his grandfather and grandfather's sister both passed from it 30 years earlier. Unfortunately, most national funding for research on it has been dwindled to nothing.

Oh I'm sorry for your losses and the family history. I'm in Boston, my docs are at Mass.General/Harvard so there's never a shortage of studies going on.

The ALS one was about a year ago. They had three groups including the control group. There was the ALS group, Periphal Neuropathy group and the control non-effectived group. Some of the studies are long term - that particular one was a one shot deal. I am on a list to do another that will be longer term, but I might not meet the criteria. But I do just about any study I can.

 

[IndieSnob]

Oh I'm sorry for your losses and the family history. I'm in Boston, my docs are at Mass.General/Harvard so there's never a shortage of studies going on.

The ALS one was about a year ago. They had three groups including the control group. There was the ALS group, Periphal Neuropathy group and the control non-effectived group. Some of the studies are long term - that particular one was a one shot deal. I am on a list to do another that will be longer term, but I might not meet the criteria. But I do just about any study I can.

Ah, sounds like some pretty interesting research going on. I hear the UW may start doing another research project soon which I'd be heavily interested in being in on.

My Dad was on some sort of new medication, but he was in such a late stage that the study couldn't be completed. Most of the meds that have come about are only for slowing down the process of the motor neurons dying.

 

[Cathleen]

Ah, sounds like some pretty interesting research going on. I hear the UW may start doing another research project soon which I'd be heavily interested in being in on.

My Dad was on some sort of new medication, but he was in such a late stage that the study couldn't be completed. Most of the meds that have come about are only for slowing down the process of the motor neurons dying.

There are tons of studies, way over my head but I don't need to understand what they're doing in order to help so I participate.

I am in a sorta-kinda-similar situation as your Dad. Slowing the progression is the only thing going at the moment but you never know from where the answers will come. My neurologist left her full time practice to go into the private sector doing research. I ask her all the time ''So, where's the cure?" she is upbeat about some neurological conditions - good sign, and I take all the good signs I can get.

One thing she loves about her research is while working on one condition they find better ways to help another condition. Anything is possible.

 

[NaughtyLil1]

Naughty, I'm in, no brainer for me. Hell I've given more then my blood for ALS, Breast Cancer, kidney and liver diseases - this is easy.

It's such a small contribution. I couldn't pass it up.

 

[Comshaw]

Has anyone heard of this?



If there's enough interest, we can form a Lit team.

Read about it here

It's all part of the BOINC project out of Berkeley. I've been part of the SETI program for 4 years now. Here's the link to all the projects:

BOINC Projects



Comshaw

 

[Igor_1066]

Yep, it's just another DC (distributed computing) project.

You download bits of data and run passes through it (decoding), and then uploading the finished data back to the main server database.

They've done this for cancer, aids, high-end math computations, signals from space, etc . etc.

I did one of these as part of a team. I got about 10 or 12 computers participating myself. It was quite a bit of fun to see where our team ranked and such.

 

[*HeadlessBarbie]

I am interested in doing this.

 

[NaughtyLil1]

It's all part of the BOINC project out of Berkeley. I've been part of the SETI program for 4 years now. Here's the link to all the projects:

BOINC Projects



Comshaw

Thank you for the link. There are quite a few to chose from.

I did one of these as part of a team. I got about 10 or 12 computers participating myself. It was quite a bit of fun to see where our team ranked and such.

I'm downloaded and ready to go. I'm anxious to see where I fit in.

 

[Cathleen]

Thank you for the link. There are quite a few to chose from.



I'm downloaded and ready to go. I'm anxious to see where I fit in.

Where/how/etc., as part of a group from here or solo?

Edit: Ummm... yeah, I only had to read a little to find out.