Abstract
Distributed, or peer-to-peer, processing is an ingenious way of tackling really big analyses, by parcelling out small amounts of data to thousands of participating computers around the world. These data are analysed using software that runs as a screensaver, and takes up only a fraction of the spare capacity that every PC has. The idea is not a new one. Since its launch in 1999, the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project has recruited nearly 3 million computers to analyse radiowaves from outer space in a search for extraterrestrial messages. Now, however, a problem that is much closer to home is being tackled in the same way, as thousands of PCs are linking up to analyse computer-generated molecules in the hope of identifying possible new anticancer drugs.
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