Put Your PC to Work Fighting Anthrax

In your idle moments, your computer can now join the search for a cure for anthrax.

Finding the cure joins the goals of a distributed computing system created last April to search for a cure for cancer, the project's organizers announced on Tuesday.

Distributed computing systems use the computational power of thousands of idle PCs to solve certain mathematical problems by breaking them down into many small, independent calculations. Such systems have previously been used to crack encryption codes and to analyze radio signals for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.

In April, a new distributed computing project took shape, supported by Intel, Microsoft, United Devices, the National Foundation for Cancer Research in the U.S., and Oxford University in England. Its goal: a cure for cancer.

Now the project's sponsors have introduced a new project: finding a cure for anthrax, they said in a statement on Tuesday.

The search for both cures involves a process called virtual screening, examining mathematical models of molecules to see whether they can interfere with chemical reactions within the human body.

Screen Saver

To take part, volunteers download a screen saver application from Intel's Web site. The software obtains a batch of molecular model data from a central server at United Devices, and performs calculations on it whenever the computer is idle. When the batch is complete, the results are sent back to the server and a new batch of data requested.

Not all medical research can be performed by computer, but the researchers at Oxford University discovered recently that the harmful effects of anthrax are most likely the results of a single interaction between a toxin produced by the bacteria and a ring of seven protein molecules found in the human body. If another molecule is found that blocks or interferes with this interaction, it can potentially be used to neutralize the effects of the anthrax toxin. Many molecules can be swiftly ruled out by the distributed computing system, speeding the search for a cure.

More information about the distributed computing project can be found at Intel.com/cure and about Oxford University's anthrax research on Oxford's Web site.