There's a headline you don't see everyday...but seriously, BusinessWeek has an article up about how studies on the variants and adaptation of spam is now leading to a new way of thinking about stopping HIV.
David Heckerman leads the spam-blocking team at Microsoft Research. Heckerman is both a physician and a PhD in computer science. His team found that spam, like a living virus, mutates in similar ways each time it is successfully blocked. Heckerman saw the parallel and brought it to Bill Gates, who is involved in the race for a cure for HIV as part of his philanthropy work. Only a few months later, Microsoft spawned a biology division.
I love stories like this - in which a tough challenge in one area drives innovation that is applicable elsewhere. Further, it shows how outsiders often bring new thinking to a problem that has plagued experts for years.
Kudos to Microsoft for investing in this area without much prompting and unknown opportunity for profit. I think such an idea would get lost in the bureaucracy of most large companies. But Microsoft has retained an entrepreneurial culture. A big part of that is continuing to have access to Bill Gates. This "evolution" in organizational behavior is a reason that Microsoft continues to lead in the software market.
We don't have a cure for spam or HIV yet, but innovations like this in the face of extreme/mortal challenge just might crack the code.
I'll try to put this to good use imemidately.
Posted by: Gabrielle | August 11, 2011 at 01:58 PM