t data to understand the individual variation in response to various HIV therapy regimes - a step, he says, towards more personalised treatments. Nakagawara agrees, saying the grid can be used for more personalised projects like genomics screening or signalling pathway analysis - both of which could play a role in next generation cancer treatments. 'The WCG can be applied to analyse the huge data sets obtained from DNA sequencing, transcriptome, proteomics and chemical structures to make personalised medicine possible.'
But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the grid's future research potential, says Jasinski. As long as the computational models are in place 'there is no real limit to the kinds of research areas the grid can contribute to'. Already the grid has been used to investigate environmental chemistry, how to produce more nutritious food and how to manage natural water courses for maximum benefit. But, says Jasinski, 'we also believe the grid can help in weather and climate models and in studies of topics in social sciences and humanities - such as comparative studies of literature, language, music. We are not limited to the physical sciences,' he says. 'We are only limited by the creativity of different research communities in their ability to create accurate computational models.' Idle or not, what better excuse is there to take that lunch break?
Katrina Megget is a freelance science writer based in London, UK
Community Computing - Idle Cures
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