IBM World Community Grid Tackles Rice Crisis

As concerns of a global hunger crises mount, IBM and researchers at the University of Washington today launched a new program to develop stronger strains of rice that could produce crops with larger and more nutritious yields. Anyone with a computer and the Internet can help by joining World Community Grid at http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• rice
• IBM
• crisis
• world_community_grid
• University_of-Washington

[endthedisease]

would it be ok if I repost this wcg video on my yt page?

I am trying to get new members on my team and I'm planning on giving away some cash and possibly a wii to my top crunchers.

[jgluckibm]

@endthedisease Yes, of course. - Jeff Gluck, IBM

[fibertech9]

Good stuff.

[TheAspens]

Projects such as World Community Grid do not ask you to change how you use your computer. They simply run at lowest priority on your system and use the processing capacity that isn't used on your computer while you browse the web or read email. It is a very worthwhile endeavor and I encourage you to join!

[benj83isr]

great project :) 

[3tangle3]

@thiswaythat 75 papers published as a result of this work

[438426x1]

lol i leave my computer on 24/7

[Didactylos01]

If you only run the software while already using your computer, the increase in power use is negligible. World Community Grid say it is equivalent to a low energy lightbulb - a few watts.

Their default setting of 60% of your processor is specifically designed for laptops, to ensure they don't overheat. Other BOINC projects will use 100% by default, and that isn't a good setting for a laptop.

There is more about power use on the World Community Grid website.

[Lexdude0]

I'm running BOINC on my laptop. After leaving it for a while the computer heats up. It didn't used to do that before I ran BOINC. If it heats up, by Joule's law, it means more electricity is used up. Therefore, yes, your electricity bill will slightly increase as a result. I guess it depends on whether you believe this world community grid is actually helping, or is just a waste of time and electricity. And bigger electricity usage means more pollution. A bit of a joke, really.

[Nederluv]

Humans have been trying to breed better crops for over a thousand years. Selecting certain crops to breed a crop with a higher yield isn't against nature, but so what if it was? Driving a car, sitting behind a computer, taking medicine or whiping your ass with toilet paper isn't natural either.

Even the Amish have nothing against breeding crops! What are you? The world's first pro-famine human?

[thiswaythat]

actually it does cost more than a dime. i use to run seti@home back in the day when it first launched and it did suck some juice.

Save a life? That's questionable. I'm yet to see one program like this generate anything of real use. Please send a link to correct me. I would really like to know.

[wilsoncruz]

Hey, so when you go to the bathroom or go to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee you shutdown your computer??? Ok, come on, you can setup the agent to work only when the computer is running the screensaver and you are out for some minutes. It does not cost a dime, but can save a life.