2008 Woodie Awards
Saving the world with your laptop
Casey Perry
Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: News/Features
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Right now, as I type these words, my laptop is analyzing a potential drug's ability to fit into the pockets of HIV protease. Down the hall, a friend's desktop is studying nanoscale magnetism. Upstairs, a Playstation 3 game system is attempting to predict the exact structure of a particular protein. All of these projects are part of a quickly growing phenomenon known as volunteer computing.
So just how does this new volunteerism work? Suppose, for example, that Vanderbilt researchers have come up with a theoretical way to treat skin cancer. Suppose further that the major barrier to the project is that it would require massive amounts of processing ability and computing time. Without a supercomputer at hand, our intrepid researchers would certainly be out of luck.
Enter volunteer computing. If our diligent researchers could split up the project into little segments and transmit them out over the Web, all of their woes could be forgotten. These segments could be computed simultaneously on volunteer computers around the world, similar to several people working on individual parts of a puzzle. Results could then be sent back to a central processor and consolidated into a solution. All that our faithful researchers need to do is spread the word.
This type of research is known as parallel or distributed computing and it partially depends on the frequency computers sit inactive on a table, waiting for user input. Distributed computing projects allow those unused cycles to be harnessed for the public good. By setting the project applications at a low priority, project applications only run when a computer system is not otherwise engaged.
Even when owners are using their computers for tasks that require little CPU time, such as word processing, a distributed computing application could be chugging away on a portion of a research project. In this way, individuals can convert unused resources into real world solutions to societal problems.
For example, take the field of biochemistry. Rosetta@home, hosted by the University of Washington, currently is running on computers across the world working toward designing and predicting protein structure. According to David Baker, professor of biochemistry at UW, research completed with Rosetta can possibly be used to help unravel the mysteries behind many diseases.
So just how does this new volunteerism work? Suppose, for example, that Vanderbilt researchers have come up with a theoretical way to treat skin cancer. Suppose further that the major barrier to the project is that it would require massive amounts of processing ability and computing time. Without a supercomputer at hand, our intrepid researchers would certainly be out of luck.
Enter volunteer computing. If our diligent researchers could split up the project into little segments and transmit them out over the Web, all of their woes could be forgotten. These segments could be computed simultaneously on volunteer computers around the world, similar to several people working on individual parts of a puzzle. Results could then be sent back to a central processor and consolidated into a solution. All that our faithful researchers need to do is spread the word.
This type of research is known as parallel or distributed computing and it partially depends on the frequency computers sit inactive on a table, waiting for user input. Distributed computing projects allow those unused cycles to be harnessed for the public good. By setting the project applications at a low priority, project applications only run when a computer system is not otherwise engaged.
Even when owners are using their computers for tasks that require little CPU time, such as word processing, a distributed computing application could be chugging away on a portion of a research project. In this way, individuals can convert unused resources into real world solutions to societal problems.
For example, take the field of biochemistry. Rosetta@home, hosted by the University of Washington, currently is running on computers across the world working toward designing and predicting protein structure. According to David Baker, professor of biochemistry at UW, research completed with Rosetta can possibly be used to help unravel the mysteries behind many diseases.
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