Off Topic: You may already have heard that there is a massive peer to peer (P2P) project underway involving thousands of computers around the world trying to find a drug cure for cancer. The project, a joint development between Intel, United Devices and Oxford University, simply requires you to install some software on your computer which uses the CPU power which would otherwise go to waste. After a few requests from readers we've set up a Digital Photography Review team which you can join!

Remember this is for a good cause, we're trying to set up a BIG team, we know how many visitors we get daily and we'd like to think that some of you would be willing to join our team and help this very worthy effort.

Steps to join in the effort

1. Download the P2P software here
2. Install software and create your username
3. Click here to join the Digital Photography Review team

Note: at the time of posting this article there's only one member and that's us, also note that you can have multiple "devices" (computers) logged in with the same username and identified as individual devices (they all total up your effort).

Information about the project

A New Way to Help

A landmark research project has begun that allows people to make a real difference in the fight against cancer. This is no regular donation request: a participant is never asked to open a checkbook or volunteer time.

The Intel-United Devices Cancer Research Project is asking you to volunteer your PC to help process molecular research being conducted by the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford in England and the National Foundation for Cancer Research. To participate, you 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. Your computer never leaves your desk, and the project never interrupts your usual PC use.

It's Easy and Safe

There is no cost to participate and no impact on your computer use. The project software cannot detect or transfer anything on your machine but project-specific information. It just allows your computer to screen molecules that may be developed into drugs to fight cancer. Each individual computer analyzes a few molecules and then sends the results back over the Internet for further research. The goal is to enlist enough volunteers to contribute 24 million hours of computational time. This project is anticipated to be the largest computational chemistry project ever undertaken and represents a genuine hope to find a better way to fight cancer.

The computational power to perform research of this scale is only available through the generosity of individuals like you.

For those who question the big corps reasons

From http://members.ud.com/vypc/cancer/faq_proj.htm

Are you going to sell the results to large pharmaceutical companies?

No. The results of this study are the intellectual property of the University of Oxford and the National Foundation for Cancer Research, who will make the scientific findings of this project available to the greater scientific community.

Are the results going to be made public?

Yes. Prof. Graham Richards' research group, the project coordinators, will publish the results. This group originally designed the project and is currently orchestrating the study. Scientific interpretation of the results from this study will take some time. Results and scientific findings will be published in the usual manner through a peer-reviewed process.

So the results are going to the National Foundation for Cancer Research and Oxford. The National Foundation for Cancer Research are not the type of body to charge for commercial development of this work

From http://members.ud.com/vypc/cancer/index.htm

The project software cannot detect or transfer anything on your machine but project-specific information. It just allows your computer to screen molecules that may be developed into drugs to fight cancer. Each individual computer analyzes a few molecules and then sends the results back over the Internet for further research.

So your computer is only allowed to scan molecules

From Intels criteria for Philantropic projects http://www.intel.com/cure/criteria.htm

A. 100% Philanthropic:
The programs and, more specifically, workloads should be 100% philanthropic. Being a 100% philanthropic program means that that the program(s) run non-profit projects all of the time. Programs that run commercial projects "from time to time" are NOT considered 100% philanthropic.

B. No Cost to the Public:
The program should be completely "free" to the public. This means that there should be no cost to the public to download any of the software applications needed to run the workloads.

C. Complete Disclosure to User:
The programs should allow complete disclosure of information to the user about the workloads running on the user's machine (including, but not limited to, the type of data being processed), without giving away proprietary information.

D. Complete Disclosure to the Public:
The programs should allow all results obtained from processed workloads to be completely disclosed to the public within approximately 12 months of receiving the results.