Screen Savers of the World Unite!

Recently, a new computing paradigm has emerged: a worldwide distributed computing environment consisting of thousands or even millions of heterogeneous processors, frequently volunteered by private citizens across the globe (1). This large number of processors dwarfs even the largest modern supercomputers. In addition to the scientific possibilities suggested by such enormous computing resources, the involvement of hundreds of thousands of nonscientists in research opens the door to new means of science education and outreach, in which the public becomes an active participant.