An opportunity and a challenge
When discussing biocomputation startups, there’s one thing people agree on: These days, they don’t generate much excitement among venture capitalists.
“In the 1990s, there...
Apr, 01, 2007
It’s impossible to predict what the hottest new tools will be, but here are a few gems that caught our attention
Many experimental researchers rely on computational tools to push the pace and productivity of laboratory research. It’s impossible to predict what the hottest new tools will be, but this...
Apr, 01, 2011
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
An exploration of data-driven and process-driven approaches to data privacy
Trust. It’s the basis of every patient/physician interaction: Shared personal health information is kept confidential and used only for the patient’s benefit. It’s a tradition that...
Jan, 02, 2012
Decades of steady progress in pharmacogenetics have unearthed hundreds of associations between genes and drug response. But the field has to solve some theoretical and practical issues before it can deliver on the promise of personalized drug therapy.
As algorithms go, it’s deceptively simple. Just add together eight weighted pieces of patient information—age, height, weight, race, data about two genes, and a pair of clinical...
Jul, 01, 2009
How researchers are predicting specific thoughts from brain activity
Revealing the brain’s hidden stash of pictures, thoughts, and plans has, until recently, been the work of parlor magicians. Yet within the last decade, neuroscientists have gained powerful...
Jan, 02, 2012
The flu virus is an evolutionary marvel. Teams of experts design an appropriate flu vaccine annually just to keep up with the microbe’s ability to evade the human immune system. Multiple...
Jul, 01, 2006
Computational simulations of life in motion at every scale—molecular, cellular, tissue-level, and whole organism—are boosting our understanding of the role mechanics plays in controlling life.
From atoms and molecules to insects, dinosaurs, and humans, computational researchers are finding that much of life can be understood in mechanical terms. Indeed, the machines of life are...
Jan, 01, 2008
Diabetes, breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease. All are associated with several genes’ alleles interacting in complex ways with one another and the environment. Now,...
Jul, 01, 2007
Exploring the current state of connectomics--in the midst of hype
Connectomics is having a moment. Following on the heels of genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and microbiomics, the latest “omic” to seize the spotlight is generating...
Jun, 20, 2013