By downloading a program onto your computer, you can become part of a worldwide network of computers researching some of the most pressing scientific issues.  Your computer will work on these distributed computing projects at times when you're not using it, and the research it performs will help cure diseases and address other important questions.

Here are the projects mentioned in this episode:

http://folding.stanford.edu

www.climateprediction.net

www.malariacontrol.net

http://cbl-boinc-server2.cs.technion.ac.il/superlinkattechnion

www.worldcommunitygrid.org

Host a holiday party and ask all your friends to bring toys as presents for underprivileged kids!

You can donate the toys to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program.  To request that Marines come to your party or to find a Toys for Tots drop-off location near you, visit www.toysfortots.org.

If you're over 17 years old, you weigh more than 110 pounds, and you're in good health, you are probably eligible to give blood.  Yet only 5% of Americans who can give blood decide to donate.

You can save up to three lives by giving blood.  Visit www.givelife.org today to find a blood drive near you.

You can also listen to the terrific Red Cross podcast, "Cross the Globe," on iTunes or at http://blog.redcross.org/category/podcast.

Share your leftover Halloween candy and costumes with others!  You can give your candy to a food bank, soup kitchen, or homeless shelter, and you can donate costumes to battered women's shelters and children's hospitals.

You can also mail leftover candy to Operation Gratitude to be included in care packages for U.S. troops.  For more information, visit www.opgratitude.com/atlas_ib/590t.jpg.