Many systems models are strikingly vulnerable to even small changes in the variables
Systems biologists seek to model many complex biological interactions all at once. Typically, they input tens or even hundreds of variables to produce predic- tions about a system—for example,...
Jan, 01, 2008
Mouse hair development patterns follow Turing's predictions
In the 1950s, computer science pioneer Alan Turing suggested an elegantly simple mechanism for how biological patterns such as scales, feathers, and hair might form. Now, more than fifty years later...
Apr, 01, 2007
Open Source reflections; designing with code re-use; and Cygwin
Do you have a few favorite books that you recommend to anyone with an interest in biomedical computing? Are there software products or Web sites that you love to evangelize? We’d like to open...
Sep, 01, 2005
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...
Apr, 01, 2011
How researchers are combining disparate data types and simulating systems that contain many different moving parts
13 years ago Markus Covert, PhD, read a New York Times article that changed his life. The article quoted a prominent microbiologist who suggested that the ultimate test of one’s...
Feb, 16, 2013
Predicting protein localization
Joe works in a factory; Jane works in a hospital; protein X works in the Golgi apparatus. Just as one might guess a worker’s job by knowing where he or she is employed, biologists can guess a...
Apr, 01, 2006
A three-dimensional biomechanical model predicts how effectively functional electrical stimulation (FES) stabilizes seated postures
Implanting electrodes into paralyzed torso muscles can help individuals with spinal cord injury balance in their seats. So say researchers at Case Western Reserve University, who have built a three-...
Oct, 01, 2010
Imaging, geometric modeling, representation and computing of shapes and forms are important components of modern computational biology. These processes apply across wide spectra of scales,...
Oct, 03, 2012
Working in silico, researchers hone in on candidate proteins worthy of laboratory work
By stringing together amino acids in a prescribed sequence that then folds into a defined structure, nature designs proteins to perform specific functions. Nowadays, computational researchers are...
Sep, 01, 2011
A virtual lab rat; simulated DNA; an artificial pancreas; & integrating mental health data
Several biomedical computing projects received multi-million dollar funding in the fall of 2011, including efforts to: simulate the cardiac physiology of the rat; build a state-of-the-art DNA...
Jan, 02, 2012