Predicting RNA structure remains an open challenge, but progress is being made
RNA is not just a single-stranded template. Like proteins, many RNA molecules can fold into three-dimensional structures that catalyze reactions and regulate gene expression. Predicting this...
Jul, 01, 2008
In science, there is a need to balance research in domain sciences and the infrastructure to support that research. Basic research mediated through peer review is understood to produce useful...
Jan, 01, 2007
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
Biomarker research, genetics, and imaging are all coming into play
In 1906, at a small medical meeting in Tübingen, Germany, physician Alois Alzheimer gave a now-famous presentation about a puzzling patient. At age 51, Auguste D.’s memory was failing...
Oct, 01, 2007
How can they help us understand proteins?
Graphs, or networks, have been widely adopted in computational biology, with examples including protein-protein interaction networks, gene regulatory networks, and residue interaction networks in...
Jun, 20, 2013
As algorithms evolve, computing power explodes, and scientists solve a greater number of 3-D protein structures, computer-aided design has the potential to dramatically cut the cost and time of drug discovery
Once upon a time, not long ago, HIV/AIDS was a scourge, killing anyone who contracted the deadly virus. Now, many people are living with the disease, which they control with drugs initially developed...
Jul, 01, 2007
Profiles in Computer Science Courage Part I: Reflections on the rewards of plunging into biomedicine
Interviews with Leonidas Guibas, Ron Shamir, Michael Black, David Haussler, Daphne Koller, Erin Halperin, Gene Myers, Paul Groth and Bruce Donald
To a computer scientist, the fields of biology and medicine can seem like the vast Pacific Ocean, says Leonidas Guibas, PhD, professor of computer science at Stanford University. “You go to the...
Apr, 01, 2011
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
Words of Advice from the Scientists Featured in Profiles in Computer Science Courage
Find Your Passion
“Not every computer scientist will fall in love with the field like I did,...
Apr, 01, 2011
Advances in computational power and algorithms have led to longer and more accurate molecular dynamics simulations of protein folding. But these approaches, because they are computationally intensive...
Jun, 06, 2012