IBM joins swine flu research
By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
05/07/2009
MANILA, Philippines--Information technology giant IBM is taking part in a global project aimed at combating the drug-resistant H1N1 virus, which is threatening to become a global pandemic.
IBM and US-based University of Texas Medical Branch will work using the World Community Grid (WCG)--a global undertaking to create the largest public computing grid for scientific research–to compute for the chemical compounds that can be used against the new flu virus strain.
The project is called the Influenza Antiviral Drug Search. It will use computing power from more than one million computers.
The WCG is akin to a giant super computer. But it uses millions of computers to provide processing power to make complex computations. Anyone can register and allow the project to use the computing power of their computers to do some of the calculations needed while connected to the grid.
Scientists at the University of Texas are expecting to use 10 percent of the results from the WCG calculations for further laboratory testing.
In a statement, University of Texas Associate Professor for Biochemistry Stan Watowich said that the WCG could provide more computing power than those normally found in ordinary computer server farms, thus shortening the time to find potentially effective compounds for laboratory testing.
The raging global flu outbreak is caused by the H1N1 virus strain. It was first detected in Mexico City in mid-March and has spread worldwide.
The H1N1 flu virus has already claimed at least 40 lives.
The WCG is already being used for several bio-research projects on AIDS (Acute Immune Deficiency Syndrome), malaria, cancer and dengue.
Incidentally, the Philippines is involved in one WCG project: a study on the cross-breeding techniques for rice.
The project, started in 2008, involved the International Rice Research Institute in Los Banos, Laguna and the University of Washington.