malariacontrol.net
MalariaControl.net has been created to harness the volunteer computing power of thousands of people around the world, to help improve the ability of researchers to predict, and hence control, the spread of malaria in Africa.
Simulation models of the transmission dynamics and health effects of malaria are an important tool for malaria control. They can be used to determine optimal strategies for delivering mosquito nets, chemotherapy, or new vaccines which are currently under development and testing.
Such modeling is extremely computer intensive, requiring simulations of large human populations with a diverse set of parameters related to biological and social factors that influence the distribution of the disease.
Why should I join?
The Swiss Tropical Institute has developed a computer model for malaria epidemiology and harnessed its in-house PC capacity, about 40 machines, to do preliminary studies. But far more computing power is required to validate such models and to adequately simulate the full range of interventions and transmission patterns relevant for malaria control in Africa.
Who is involved?
malariacontrol.net was developed by africa@home
More information on malaria and the simulations involved available here.
Hardware requirements.
This science application can be very IO (input/output) intensive and your hard disk drive may get used quite frequently; it may cause some computers to overheat. More information available on the project Message Boards in Notes for New Users.