SARS moves the tech world

By Staff, CNETAsia

From Beijing to Singapore, SARS has caused a deep chill to run through Asia's citizens.

The regional and world press have been busy trying to see how it will affect the economy, and in particular, the IT industry, a key component of the well-being of the several Asian states. Meanwhile, a U.S. firm is looking worldwide for volunteers to donate spare processor cycles from their PCs to look for a cure.

U.S.:Your PC's cycles for a good cause
A software company has released a distributed computing agent that harnesses the spare processor cycles of PCs all over the world to come up with a possible cure for SARS.

D2OL (Drug Design Optimisation Lab), a public service project from Boca Raton, Florida-based software firm Sengent, is a client application that models potential drug molecules attacking disease-causing germs. When installed on a PC, the D2OL runs in the system tray, and sends results back to D2OL when an Internet link is established.

"By simply downloading a no-cost, non-intrusive software application, you can contribute the idle time available on your computer to fight major heathcare outbreaks and potential biological weapons even when not connected to the Internet," according to the Web site.

"With your help we are testing compounds that are readily available, and credible 'hits' can be tested in cell and animal models of the disease to confirm potential utility in man," it continues.

The D2OL program is similar to other distributed-computing projects, the most famous one being the search interstellar radio waves for signs of intelligent life, the SETI@home (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) project.

D2OL began life as a bid to harness distributed computing for diseases such as anthrax, ebola and smallpox. SARS has just been added to the list.