http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/

Computers can help treat diseases by running various kinds of simulations of biological phenomena, which in turn can lead to the discovery of new treatments. However, the computing power required to run these simulations is huge. One solution is to break the simulations down into small computing jobs and send these jobs to computers in a wide network. In this way, massive amounts of computation can be done in parallel and we get on a faster track towards treating various kinds of diseases.

You can join one such network at the world community grid, http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/. Being part of this network involves downloading a small application that runs in the background. This application periodically downloads the kinds of small computing jobs I mentioned above, works them out, then sends out the results. You can set it up so that the program only runs as a screen saver, so that it doesn't interfere with stuff you're normally doing. In this way, instead of your spare computing power being wasted running a normal screen saver and doing not much else, it can be put to work for the greater good. You also get some bells and whistles e.g. a graphic displaying the process of the current computing job and stats tracking your contributions, etc.

Currently the world community grid is running 4 projects. One is to fight muscular dystrophy, one is to fight AIDS, one is to compare the human genome with other genomes, and the last is to investigate the functioning of proteins in the human body. (The last two projects are not aimed at curing a specific disease but they could lead to unforeseen medical advances down the road.) I believe another project on cancer is going to be added soon. You can choose which projects you would like to help out with.

It's an easy way to contribute to the greater good with basically no effort or cost on your part. You just register on the site, download the application, and it runs silently in the background without you having to worry about it.

Interesting idea. How do I know my computer hasn't become a part of some more nefarious network, running jobs to do something less enervating?

Posted by BasketballJones:

Interesting idea. How do I know my computer hasn't become a part of some more nefarious network, running jobs to do something less enervating?

It's run by IBM and associated with various medical/academic institutions, so by reputation it should be solid. I've been running it on my computer for months without a hitch or any hint of interference with normal processing. The website also has a message board where these kinds of questions could be better answered:

http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/forums/wcg/index

yep there's a linux version.