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
Multi-scale modeling is now at what might be called its gestational stage
For centuries, mathematics has been an indispensable ally of the physical sciences and engineering. Planes fly and telephones work because engineers know how to simplify physical systems into...
Apr, 01, 2006
Defining biomedical computation
Looking back at some of the intellectual achievements of the last half century, it is clear that humankind has made tremendous progress in many areas, but arguably none more so than in the two areas...
Jun, 01, 2005
Balancing Breadth and Depth
The last decade saw a proliferation of training programs at the intersection of life science and computation, with more than 60 new degree and certificate programs launched in the United States alone...
Sep, 01, 2005
Transparent peer review, replication studies, and journals of negative results all suggest change is on the horizon
As I was writing this editorial, I learned about yet another scientific paper being retracted. This time it was a genetics paper in Science, one of the hundreds of retractions that the blog...
Sep, 01, 2011
To fit inside the cell nucleus, DNA molecules wrap around tiny protein spindles known as histones. These histones carry an intriguing biochemical code that helps decide a cell’s destiny—...
Apr, 01, 2010
Computers and human experts duke it out over who is better at diagnosing disease, interpreting images, or predicting protein structure
Dorothy Rosenthal tenses over her microscope, peering at the problematic nucleus on the Pap smear yet again. “It’s abnormal,” she decides, and then hesitates. “No, it’s...
Jul, 01, 2006
Knot-detecting algorithm discovers that proteins are rarely knotted
When you accidentally twist a shoelace, garden hose, or necklace, it can get annoyingly tangled into intractable knots. On the microscopic level, biopolymers—string-like molecules such as DNA...
Oct, 01, 2010
Connectivity Map helps connect drugs and diseases
Normal cells, diseased cells and cells on drugs share a common language: They all produce their own patterns of gene expression. And the patterns can be compared in useful ways—given a disease...
Jan, 01, 2007
With the advent of the cloud, computing is no longer about machines
A fter a hard day in “Lab,” it is rare to come home with the feeling of actually having accomplished anything tangible. Sure, the software I am developing has some new feature (...
Jan, 01, 2008