Dimes
Although not part of BOINC, DIMES (Distributed Internet MEasurements & Simulations) is an interesting project to try and map the structure of the internet graphically.
To do this they wish to send out signals from machines all over the world and trace the route they take to reach their destination. This is done by The DIMES agent performing Internet measurements using TRACEROUTE and PING commands.
Spinhenge@Home
Spinhenge@Home is a project researching nano-technology.
SETI@home
SETI@home was the first project I joined that used the spare time of my computer. I have always been interested in Astronomy and the chance to take part in a research project to try and detect signals from alien worlds interested me.
The SETI project is privately funded to buy time on the Arecibo radio astronomy dish. Chunks of the data collected are then sent out to the home computers of thousands of people where it is analysed and searched for unusual signals that may be alien. If something is ever discovered the owner of the computer will be partly credited with being the first person to find evidence of alien life.
When the BOINC programme was launched I converted to using it and continued to search for these signals.
Predictor@Home
Predictor@Home was an experiment to use distributed computing to assemble a supercomputer able to predict protein structure from protein sequence. The aim was to test algorithms and methods of protein structure prediction.
The goal was to utilize these approaches together with the immense computer power that can be harnessed through the internet and volunteers all over the world to address critical biomedical questions of protein-related diseases.