Computers are essential to scientific research today. Tackling today's toughest humanitarian questions is an overwhelming job. Imagine being faced with millions of compounds and believing that somewhere amongst them – perhaps in just one tiny molecule – is the key to disabling HIV. It would be a bit like hunting for a needle in a haystack. A research scientist might devote years to tirelessly examining compounds one by one using traditional laboratory techniques before getting close to a breakthrough. That's an expensive and time-consuming process. Computer modeling can significantly accelerate her task by systematically identifying only the most promising candidates for lab testing – a more accurate method of predicting outcomes than she could manage alone. But this requires dedicated access to expensive supercomputers, which she's unlikely to have. Instead, she could partner with World Community Grid and break her big task down into millions of smaller questions – each of which could be answered independently by a single volunteer's device. That way, our scientist would get closer to developing that lifesaving new drug in a fraction of the time traditional techniques would have allowed. The 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who pioneered the very computational chemistry techniques used by World Community Grid. Computers have ushered in an exciting new age for research – one in which scientists can dare to think big.