Simplified model catches essential details of how DNA complements find their matches
Until now, scientists have known little about how complementary single strands of DNA court one another before binding to form the classical double helix. But now, molecular dynamics simulations have...
Jan, 01, 2010
Either/or molecular circuitry modeled
To differentiate or not to differentiate? That is the question constantly faced by embryonic stem cells. And they seem to answer it decisively at the behest of a molecular trio of transcription...
Jan, 01, 2007
Assuring accuracy and efficiency
In simulations of human activities such as running, hundreds of individual musculotendon models turn on and off to swing the arms and legs. Naturally, these simulations can only be as accurate and...
Jun, 19, 2013
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
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
A myriad of environmental changes inspire only a handful of responses
Biologists’ favorite bacterium grows almost anywhere—from the human gut to the pounding surf. But E. coli’s remarkable adaptability apparently stems from being predictable rather...
Apr, 01, 2006
Microbes react to environmental changes before they occur.
When we see dark clouds, we might grab an umbrella before heading outside. We’ve long believed that showing such foresight requires a brain and complex information-processing capability...
Oct, 01, 2008
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
A unique opportunity to build both flexibility and high performance into a piece of software.
OpenCL is a cross-platform language for doing general purpose computation on graphics processing units (GPUs) and other massively parallel architectures. One of its most interesting features is the...
Apr, 01, 2010
From hardened software to scientific productivity, the NCBCs have changed the landscape for biomedical computing. What will happen when their funding expires?
It has been eight years since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded the first National Centers for Biomedical Computing (NCBCs). With two or three years remaining in the program (...
Oct, 19, 2012