Special Features:
SMALLPOX RESEARCH GRID PROJECT
LINKS OVER 2 MILLION COMPUTERS
IBM, United Devices and
Accelrys announced a project supporting a global
research effort that is focused on the development of new drugs that could
potentially combat the smallpox virus post infection. The project will be
powered through a massive computing "Grid" that will enable millions of
computer owners worldwide to contribute idle computing resources with the goal
of developing a wide collection of potential anti-smallpox drugs.
Results from the Smallpox Research Grid Project will be delivered to the
United States Department of Defense’s Office of the Secretary of Defense.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), there is currently no specific treatment for
smallpox post infection, and the only prevention is vaccination; however,
routine inoculation was discontinued following the WHO effort to eradicate
smallpox.
The Smallpox Research Grid Project will provide leading screening researchers
at Oxford and Essex Universities in the UK and smallpox experts at the Robarts
Research Institute, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and The University of
Western Ontario with the computing horsepower needed to identify new anti-
viral drugs.
The Smallpox Research Grid Project is based on technologies and services from
IBM, United Devices, Accerlys and Evotec OAI. These commercially available
technologies and services are currently used by many pharmaceutical and
biotechnology drug companies to improve and accelerate their drug discovery
and development processes.
An emerging technology called Grid computing allows researchers to pool
computing resources such as processing, network bandwidth and storage
capacity, for large research projects.
Through theSmallpox Research Grid Project, potentially more than two million
computers will be linked to create amassive virtual supercomputerdeliveringa
peak processing power of over 1,100 teraflops. That is more than 30 times the
power of today's fastest supercomputer as listed at Top500.org.
The project employs computational chemistry to analyze chemical interactions
between a library of 35 million potential drug molecules andseveral protein
targets on the smallpox virus in the search for an effective anti- viral drug
to treat smallpox post-infection.
"IBM and our partners encourage computer owners worldwide to join in and
donate their spare processing power for this worthwhile project to develop a
new generation of drugs to combat smallpox," said Tom Hawk, general manager,
Grid computing for IBM.
"Grid computing is poised to launch a revolution in businesses, with life
sciences being one of the key areas that will benefit through faster and more
efficient drug modeling and development."
Individuals can participate in the Smallpox Research Grid Project by
downloading a screensaver from the web site below. The screensaver will
unobtrusively donate the computer's idle processing power and link it into a
worldwide Grid that will act as a virtual supercomputer capable of analyzing
billions of molecules in a fraction of the time it would take in a
laboratory.
http://www.grid.org
Once processing is complete, the program will send results back to United
Devices' data center, powered by an IBM infrastructure, and will request new
data to analyze. The new data will then be worked on by the individual machine
and the results returned the next time the computer user connects to the
Internet.
This project falls under the PatriotGrid category of research projects at
PatriotGrid is the world's first public research Grid dedicated specifically
to counter bio-terrorism. Participants who sign up at the Web site below will
be able to take an active role in all research projects that fall into this
category.
"We've had great success using our massive Global MetaProcessor Grid to target
anthrax and cancer research," said United Devices CEO Ed Hubbard. "Helping to
identify inhibitors for these targets that could lead to a cure for smallpox
in this time frame is only possible using leading applications, an existing
infrastructure and a proven grid solution. We're extremely proud to take part
in this effort."
Technology And Partners
The Smallpox Research Grid Project is enabled through the expertise, financial
and technical capabilities of a number of businesses: United Devices, IBM, Accelrys, and Evotec OAI.
Educational And Other Institutions:
- Leading Universities and Research Institutes: The University of Oxford,
assisted by researchers at Essex University and the Robarts Research
Institute, has prepared the targets for use with Accelrys' LigandFit and has
contributed its large molecular library to the project. The project at the
university and research level is led by Dr. Grant McFadden, scientist at
Robarts Research Institute and graduate chair of the department of
microbiology and immunology at The University of Western Ontario; Dr. Stewart
Shuman, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Research; Professor Graham Richards,
chairman of the chemistry department at the University of Oxford, and
Professor Chris Reynolds, Department of Biological Sciences at Essex at Essex
University.
- United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases: They
will manage the project for the Department of Defense and will be one of the
institutions to further process the most promising drug-like molecular
candidates with the goal of developing them to help combat the use of smallpox
as a bioterrorist threat or a military weapon.
"Through our donation of technology and scientific expertise, we hope to
contribute to the elimination of smallpox as a potential weapon of mass
destruction," said Dr. Scott Kahn, chief science officer of Accelrys. "We're
excited to partner with these top technology and bioresearch organizations in
the fight against terror."
About Oxford University
The University of Oxford has more academic staff working in world-class
research departments than any other UK university. The Oxford University
Chemistry Department is the largest in the western world, with more Chemistry
graduates and more students with doctorates being trained at Oxford than at
any university in the USA or Europe.
The cancer project: http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/curecancer.html.
The anthrax project: http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/anthrax.
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