Model fits experimental evidence
In biology textbooks, the carefully rendered cross-section of an E. coli cell often resembles a well-organized and spacious apartment, with everything in its place and ample room for movement. But a...
May, 31, 2010
And people are starting to notice
In 1991, a prescient editorial in Nature by Harvard’s Walter Gilbert, PhD, (“Towards a paradigm shift in biology”) included these observations on the utility and impact of computing...
Mar, 31, 2006
Building upon the clues provided by GWAS to gain new insights
Some diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, have a beautiful simplicity: A genetic misspelling cripples a protein, which profoundly and predictably alters the body. Find the faulty gene for these so-...
Jan, 12, 2015
Computation offers a window into a disease often described as a black box
The growing threats of multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) are spurring worldwide interest in faster and more innovative research approaches, such as...
Jun, 05, 2012
2-D simulation shows angiogenesis as it happens
Microscopic capillaries grow on demand, snaking toward hungry cells needing their blood supply. Understanding how to control this process could help scientists promote wound healing or halt cancer in...
Dec, 31, 2006
Gene therapy to correct inherited illnesses hinges on successful delivery of DNA into a person’s cells. Most gene therapists work with viruses to ferry their DNA cargo. Yet the body tends to...
Sep, 30, 2009
Can the complexities of biology be boiled down to Amazon.com-style recommendations? The examples here suggest possible pathways to an intelligent healthcare system with big data at its core.
“We have recommendations for you,” announces the website Amazon.com each time a customer signs in.
This mega-retailer analyzes billions of customers’ purchases—nearly $...
Jan, 01, 2012
Simbios researchers meld a powerful combo of tools
In 2011, Simbios researchers reported achieving greater speed and accuracy in molecular dynamics simulations by tying the polarizable force fields from AMOEBA (Atomic Multipole Optimized Energetics...
Mar, 01, 2014
The yield: an unprecedented and insightful millisecond simulation
Despite being well-studied, much remains unknown about the dynamics of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), molecules that are prominent drug targets. Recent work published in the journal Nature...
Mar, 01, 2014
Modelers are using recent gains in computational power to consider the complex interactions of hundreds or thousands of macromolecules at once--a necessary first step toward whole cell simulation
Molecules in cells behave like people in crowded subway cars. Because they can barely budge or stretch out without bumping into a neighbor, they move more slowly, smush themselves into more compact...
Mar, 31, 2011