The University of Washington and IBM's World Community Grid will study rice at the atomic level then combine that knowledge with traditional cross breeding techniques used by farmers throughout history. The goal -- vitally important as rice shortages occur around the world -- is to develop stronger strains of the grain that could produce crops with larger and more nutritious yields.
World Community Grid harnesses unused and donated power from nearly 1 million individual PCs to attain processing power of 167 teraflops, equivalent to the world's Top 3 supercomputer. Using that resource, the "Nutritious Rice for the World" project can finish in less than two years as compared to more than 200 years using more conventional computer systems.
"The issue is that there are between 30,000 and 60,000 different protein structures to study," said Dr. Ram Samudrala, Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Washington. "Using traditional experimental approaches in the laboratory to identify detailed structure and function of critical proteins would take decades."
"This project could ultimately help farmers around the world plant better crops and stave off hunger for some," said Stanley Litow, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs and President of the IBM International Foundation. "People who want to be a part of something big can take a small step today by donating their unused computer time. Volunteers can personally effect how quickly this research is completed and can make a significant difference for farmers and people in great need."
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IBM World Community Grid "Supercomputer" to Tackle Rice Crisis (press release)