I am doing cancer research as I type this. I am looking for a cancer cure. I am not even a doctor. But I have a computer. And in the background my computer is doing complex calculations and sending them off to the doctors and scientists at the University of Oxford in England.
Years ago, scientists needed to use supercomputers to do the massive amount of calculations involved. A supercomputer is basically a big computer with a lot of processors. It breaks the problem down into pieces, and each of the many processors works on a small piece. But supercomputers are expensive, and it costs researchers a lot of money to get the processing time on them that they would need.
But now they can use distributed computing. Distributed computer works on personal computers likes yours and mine. You just need to install a program on your computer. The program connects to a web site, downloads a piece of data, processes it over a day or two or three, and then uploads the results, and get another piece of data to work on. But there are MILLIONS of PCs each working on small pieces of the problem. In essense, the network of PCs is a HUGE supercomputer.
My mom died a couple years ago from lung cancer. She smoked for years, and got the lung cancer. She had a half lung removed. But the cancer returned with a vengence, and killed her in the end. This is my small part.
None of us use our computers all of the time. Your computer is sitting idle most of the time. Even when you are using, it is still sitting idle, or using very little of it’s power. If you are the net, all of the time between pages, it is just sitting there. If you get up and walk away, it is just sitting there not doing anything. Why not put your computer to use? Simply go to the National Foundation For Cancer Rearch web site, and download thier software. The software is easy to install. It can be set up to work as a screen saver (really cool), or to run all of the time in the background. I have it running in the background all of the time, and I don’t even notice it. There is just a small icon in the system tray.
So cmon, it costs you nothing, takes almost no time, and you could help find a cure for cancer. Just install it, and forget it! Maybe in the future you will contract prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, or even mesothelioma. Maybe you will have contributed to your own cancer treatment…or wish you had! So down load the software today!

Posted by Rob in Whatever on July 13th, 2006 |