Millions of personal computers sit idly on desks and in homes worldwide. During this idle time, mysteries of science, human health, and space continue to elude us. What if each of the world’s estimated 650 million PCs could be linked to focus on humanity’s most pressing issues? To make this vision a reality, late in 2004, IBM and a group of leading foundations, public organisations and academic institutions launched World Community Grid (www.worldcommunitygrid.org). Grid technology joins together many individual computers, creating a large system that far exceeds the power of a few supercomputers. World Community Grid establishes a permanent, flexible infrastructure that provides researchers with a readily available pool of computational power that can be applied on a global scale to very large and complex problems for the benefit of humanity.
IBM Chairman and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano announced World Community Grid on November 16, 2004, as an example of how a new technology - in this case, grid computing - can be applied in an innovative way to have a positive impact on the communities in which we live. In the first month of the initiative, more than 40,000 individuals joined as members, and by March 2005, more than 91,000 devices were part of World Community Grid. The computer cycle time they have donated now exceeds the processing power of a single computer running continuously for a six millennia. World Community Grid is addressing global humanitarian issues, such as:
- New and existing infectious disease research: researching cures for HIV and AIDS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), malaria and others.
- Genomic and disease research: The Human Proteome Folding project - World Community Grid’s first project - seeks to help identify the functions of the proteins that are coding by human genes.
- Natural disasters and hunger: World Community Grid applications can help researchers and Scientists with earthquake predictions, improving crop yields, and evaluating the supply of critical natural resources like water.
IBM encourages every individual, as well as corporations, universities and associations, to join as partners. World Community Grid also is looking for potential research projects that would benefit from grid technology. For more information and to download the simple, free software need to help in these important research initiatives, follow the link below:
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