Cancer Research Project

December 10, 2001 8:04 AM

Cancer Research Project Be a part of the search for a cure to cancer: simply download a very small, no cost, non-invasive software program that works like a screensaver: it runs when your computer isn't being used, and processes research until you need your machine.
posted by ericost (17 comments total)

Key points (from the site):

Participants in the Intel-United Devices Cancer Research Project are sent a unit of molecules over the Internet. Their PC will analyze the molecules using drug-design software called THINK. The THINK software analyzes the molecular data by creating a three-dimensional model and changing its shape (or conformation) to attempt to dock it into a protein site. When a conformation docks successfully and triggers an interaction with the protein, it registers as a "hit". These hits are what this research hinges on. Any one hit may be the one that will ultimately lead to a cure.

...

This project is anticipated to be the largest computational chemistry project ever undertaken. And the more individuals who volunteer their PCs, the more power available to move the project forward.
posted by ericost at 8:06 AM on December 10, 2001

This sounds like a good thing. Unfortunately, it won't run on my Mac.
posted by keith at 8:10 AM on December 10, 2001

it won't run on my mac either.
posted by panopticon at 8:14 AM on December 10, 2001

This has been going for a while I think.

The Register had an article in July of this year.

I'm subscribed. It makes me feel all warm inside. Which is nice.
posted by nedrichards at 8:15 AM on December 10, 2001

What I don't understand is why everyone where I work runs SETI@Home on their free CPU cycles instead of something useful like this or Stanford's Folding@Home protein folding project.
posted by zempf at 8:35 AM on December 10, 2001

Great news for those of us who failed to find a cure elsewhere.
posted by rusty at 8:36 AM on December 10, 2001

Rusty-Perhaps because we think that SETI is useful? While I don't actually think anything will come out of SETI, I'm eternally hopeful that something will.
posted by stoneegg21 at 9:03 AM on December 10, 2001

I'm all for projects of this kind but something strikes me as a little off about this. I tried getting information about United Devices (why are they an Inc.!?) and all I could find was marketing schpiel. What do they get out of this or do they? They've got a traditional EULA where the user really can't do anything but give their processing power and I can be convinced with the right arguments if I could find them. SETI is a nonprofit educational and research organization (yes, there are commercial sponsors).
posted by mmarcos at 9:19 AM on December 10, 2001

I ran the united devices project for a while but I found it unfulfilling. They didn't provide enough feedback on what my system was actually doing and the screen saver was all jargon with no explanation.

United Devices makes money off your cycles as they receive money from the research grant for running the show. At least that was the impression I got.
posted by srboisvert at 9:27 AM on December 10, 2001

I seem to remember reading that while UD promotes the cancer project, you're actually giving them license to run any distributed computing project they want on your CPU, and they're reselling your CPU cycles to anyone who'll pay for it. Can't find a link quickly though, so please take what I say with a shaker of salt.
posted by tippiedog at 9:55 AM on December 10, 2001

they are also trying to sell their 'metaprocessor platform' to corporate clients, for use on their intranets. thanks for beta-testing for us!

i tend to be suspicious of any company that stands to make money from some 'cancer drug'.
Focussing on 'magic-bullets' rather than prevention can be compared to focussing on the state of security of the barn door, when the horses are already away down the valley.
posted by asok at 9:58 AM on December 10, 2001

To quote myself: I seem to remember reading that while UD promotes the cancer project, you're actually giving them license to run any distributed computing project they want on your CPU, and they're reselling your CPU cycles to anyone who'll pay for it. Can't find a link quickly though, so please take what I say with a shaker of salt.

Well, I can't seem to find any reliable info on this, so maybe I heard wrong or heard bad information. Never mind.
posted by tippiedog at 10:06 AM on December 10, 2001

stoneegg21: I was mocking the concept of "finding" a cancer drug. zempf was the one mocking the search for aliens. Please double check whose snarky response you're referring to. ;-)
posted by rusty at 10:32 AM on December 10, 2001

Forget all this trivial cancer-curing and alien hunting -- support YETI@Home!
posted by cps at 10:49 AM on December 10, 2001

stoneegg21: I fail to see anything at all useful about SETI. Even ignoring the astronomically high odds against the existence of a sentient alien civilization that just happens to be broadcasting radio signals at us, what are the practical applications of finding the existence of said alien civilization? Seeing the other comments, I may have spoken too soon about the value of this particular project, but even so I still think that there are more useful ways to spend your unused CPU cycles.

Basically, I'm being selfish - I see more potential benefit to myself in folding proteins or processing molecular research than in finding extraterrestrial radio signals.
posted by zempf at 10:53 AM on December 10, 2001

My experience with SETI@Home was not great - causes crashes and lockups on NT. Others where I work have had similar trouble with the Cancer Research Project. So I run it only at home.

The lavalamp screensaver was cuter.
posted by theora55 at 11:16 AM on December 10, 2001

Rusty-Sorry about that. I saw your name and zempf's post, and didn't see the space in between the two.

Zempf-I don't think the medical things are going to do that much more benefit to benefit than SETI. Both of these seem to be incredibly long shot things, and I doubt that the processing power donated will really help significantly. I expect to find that the scientists' effort will have better computers and a better chance of finding something. Therefore, I figure I may as well waste it on what interests me best. If you disagree, waste it on what you please.
posted by stoneegg21 at 6:59 PM on December 10, 2001