Supercomputer Summit calculates against coronavirus. (Image: Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
14.03.2020, 2:28 p.m.
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Work on possible active substances against the corona virus is in full swing. Some researchers rely on the support of the fastest supercomputers in the world.
When developing active substances against the coronavirus (Sars-Cov-2), researchers also rely on the support of fast supercomputers. As Heise Online reports, researchers Micholas Smith and Jeremy C. Smith at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory included the supercomputer summit stationed there at the end of February in their research. With the computing power of 200 petaflops provided by Summit, the researchers tested the behavior of 8,000 active substances on the corona virus for two days.
Up to 325 petaflops against the corona virus
According to the first tests, 77 of the active substances tested had the ability to weaken or completely prevent the virus ’docking process from the host cells and thus prevent the onset of Covid-19 disease. In addition to Summit, the currently most powerful supercomputer in the world, the US researchers also have the second fastest system with Sierra. In total, the two supercomputers have a computing power of up to 325 pet flops. Sierra’s calculations are to be used to develop antibodies that attack the coronavirus at the Lawrence Livermore Lab.
In addition to the fastest computing computers, institutes, companies and private individuals worldwide release computing capacities for coronavirus research. The Folding @ home project, launched 20 years ago by Stanford University, is now devoted to the corona virus – and is asking other users for support. In China, tech groups such as Alibaba, Baidu, Huawei and Tencent offer domestic researchers computing power. In the United Arab Emirates, Artemis is a supercomputer with around ten petaflops.
Coronavirus research capacity
Additional capacities for coronavirus research are also being mobilized in Europe. As part of the EU funding program for research and innovation, the EU Commission is providing over ten million euros in funds. The money is to be used to launch a handful of research projects that are intended to advance research on the novel virus. Supercomputers and data centers are also available for the development of vaccines, as EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said.
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