Evolution@Home
Evolution@Home is the first parallel computing project for evolutionary biology. The aim of Evolution@Home is to improve understanding of evolutionary processes. This is achieved by simulating individual-based models. The first such model targets the accumulation of mutations in asexual populations and is implemented in Simulator005. The software of Evolution@Home is not the first to simulate this, but previous simulations were hampered by lack of memory and lack of computing power. The possibility of parallel computing has allowed Evolution@Home to move the realism of simulated parameter combinations significantly towards observed reality.
Currently the project can be operated semi-automatically, which means that a participant has to manually download tasks from the webpage and submit results by email using this method of operation. Yoyo@home used a BOINC wrapper to completely automate this project by automatically distributing tasks and collecting their results. Therefore, the BOINC version was a complete distributed computing project. Yoyo@home has declared its involvement in this project finished.
