500-fold Increase in Data Flow from SETI Telescope

coondoggie brings us an article from Networkworld about a flood of new data for the SETI@home project. We discussed something similar a few months ago when a new telescope array went live. The vast amount of processing power required to handle the new data is prompting the SETI@home team to make a plea for more volunteers. Quoting the press release: "What triggered the new flow of data was the addition of seven new receivers at Arecibo, which now let the telescope record radio signals from seven regions of the sky simultaneously instead of just one. With greater sensitivity and the ability to detect the polarization of the radio signals, plus 40 times more frequency coverage, Arecibo is set to survey the sky for new radio sources."

Comments

Is SETI even needed?

[alexkraemer]

Sorry to sound like a troll, but what do we stand to gain from analyzing all this data? How does making contact with aliens address any of the domestic problems we have? Wouldn't a more efficient use of resources be to support the Folding@home which will actually yield useful information about protein structure? And yes, I have the same criticism about Prime95 as well.
Which option benefits mankind:
1. Understanding how proteins work, which leads to medical advancements.
2. Yay! A new prime number! Let's call it OMGPONIES.
3. OMG Aliens! PONIES!

Re:FoldingAtHome

[Neil Hodges]

But aren't you, as well?