Using computational chemistry and peer-to-peer technology,
the innovative research project has harnessed the combined
resources of more than 400,000 personal computers across
the internet to search for a possible cure for leukemia.
Like a screen saver, the software on each computer works
only when the machine is sitting idle. It includes comprehensive
protections to ensure security and personal privacy. Anyone
who wants to help can volunteer their machine.
The novel cancer research program is screening hundreds
of millions of molecules to evaluate their effect on four
proteins that are known to be critical in the growth of
cancerous cells. Scientists at the National Foundation for
Cancer Research projected that this would require tens of
millions of hours of computer time, a prospect that was
previously unthinkable. By breaking the job into smaller
pieces and harnessing idle computer resources on the internet,
they believe the time required to develop a new cancer treatment
could be reduced from 12 to five years. Announced only at
the beginning of April, the program has already logged almost
40 million computer hours.
RESOURCES:
United Devices Cancer Research Program
(sponsored by Intel) -
Program Information and Software Download
http://www.intel.com/cure/index.htm
United Devices -
Cancer Research Program and more
http://www.ud.com/home.htm
Sidebar: The Virtual Chemistry Lab
Chemistry isn’t the messy business it used to be. Today
computers do much of the hands-on work, and the pharmaceutical
industry is one of the biggest users. New compounds can
be synthesized quickly and screened for possible medical
applications using only mathematics and high-speed computers.
Researchers often start with a molecule that is known to
be beneficial, and use the computer to create thousands
of variants. Each of these variants can then be tested to
see if it reacts with a disease target. Chemistry and pharmacology
have increasingly become an information science.
Computers are also commonly used for chemical visualization.
Special-purpose software displays molecules on the computer
screen, where they can be rotated and viewed from different
perspectives. Very capable applications for this purpose
can be found on the internet. Extensive libraries of downloadable
pdb files can also be found online, describing a wide variety
of complex molecules.
RESOURCES:
Council for Chemical Research -
Technology Roadmap for Computational Chemistry (Acrobat
file)-
An extensive examination of computational chemistry technology,
its applications and implications for the chemical industry
http://www.ccrhq.org/vision/index/roadmaps/CompChem%20Roadmap%2092599.pdf
Molecular Simulations Inc. -
WebLab ViewerLite software for visualizing three-dimensional
molecular models (free download)
http://www.msi.com/download/index.html
University of Wisconsin -
Chemistry Molecular Models -
Downloadable pdb files which can be visualized using WebLab
ViewerLite and comparable software
http://chemdept.uwsp.edu/pdbs/#BIOCHEMISTRY
Sidebar: Peer-to-Peer Computing
When 18-year old university dropout Shawn Fanning invented
Napster, who would have predicted that he’d start a revolution?
Fanning unsettled the recording industry by creating software
that tens of millions of people have used to share music
files over the internet – for free. In February, Napster
was ordered by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals to put controls in place to prevent online trading
of copyrighted material. But even if Napster is silenced,
dozens of imitators are now ready to take its place.
What Fanning created and what others have copied is a new
way for computers to interact online. Instead of one computer
being subservient to another, as in previous computer networks,
in Fanning’s system all computers are equal.
The revolution is well underway. There’s a newly formed
Peer-to-Peer Working Group and a Peer-to-Peer and Web Services
Conference. New start-ups are emerging to develop applications
of the technology. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Intel
Chairman Andy Grove have both expressed strong optimism
about its future.
Intel believes that peer-to-peer computing will drive the
next generation of the internet. The company established
the Intel Philanthropic Peer-to-Peer Program in April to
help raise public awareness of the technology and its potential.
The United Devices Cancer Research Program is the first
initiative.
Intel President Craig Barrett expects that by connecting
large numbers of computers on the internet it will be possible
to create the equivalent of a 50 Teraflop machine. This
computing power far exceeds the combined capability of the
world’s top 500 supercomputers, which total only about 1.47
Teraflops in comparison.
RESOURCES:
Information Week -
The Power of Peer-to-Peer
http://www.informationweek.com/801/peer.htm
O’Reilly & Associates -
Peer-to-Peer and Web Services Conference
http://conferences.oreilly.com/p2p/
Peer-to-Peer Working Group -
http://www.peer-to-peerwg.org/index.html
