Researchers have designed a protein that, in computer simulations, induces other proteins to misfold
Inside a live cell, strings of amino acids instantaneously fold into proteins with very specific shapes. Typically, no harm is done if a protein somehow folds into an unconventional configuration....
Sep, 01, 2005
Dear Reader,
In this eighteenth issue of Biomedical Computation Review (BCR), we bring you a special edition devoted to the work of the magazine’s publisher: the Simbios National Center...
Oct, 01, 2009
Computing airflow dynamics
We can’t see them, but tiny particles—dust, pollen, microbes, and the like—swirl around us in complicated, turbulent pathways. New numerical simulations suggest that, at least in...
Jun, 01, 2010
They may not own tuxedos or Dolce & Gabbana gowns, but computational scientists can nevertheless win Oscars.
In February, Ron Fedkiw, PhD, associate professor of computer science at...
Apr, 01, 2008
2-D computer simulation reveals unexpected pathway
What goes into the stomach must come out, but perhaps not in the same order in which it entered, as gastroenterologists have long assumed. A two-dimensional computer model of human stomach digestion...
Jan, 01, 2007
A debate
Say you are performing biomolecular investigations that are extremely compute intensive. You have a finite amount of money and time. You could get (1) a supercomputer (fast custom CPUs and high-speed...
Oct, 01, 2009
2004 grant to create a 3-D model of the respiratory tract
In September 2004, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, received a $10 million grant to create a three-dimensional imaging and computer model of how...
Jun, 01, 2005
The Millisecond is Attained!
Scientists have now simulated protein folding at a timescale that begins to be relevant to biology: the millisecond. Indeed, the simulation busted through the millisecond time barrier to tackle the...
Apr, 01, 2010
A model of chromatin explores how it folds and unfolds
To fit an organism’s DNA into a single cell, it has to be tightly compacted, first wound around proteins to form chromatin fibers, then further coiled into chromosomes. Computer simulations by...
Sep, 01, 2005
Bridging the gap between surgical simulation and surgical practice
When a knife cuts into an organ, forces push back in ways that mechanical engineers can, to some extent, predict. But other factors are also at play: Ions shift in solution within cells, causing...
Jan, 01, 2010