Moving from intuition to evidence-based intervention
To understand how muscles contract and joints flex, researchers have dissected cadavers and experimented with animals. They can describe how bones, muscles, and tendons connect in a complicated...
Jan, 01, 2007
Kids often claim they are just as smart—if not smarter—than their parents. Childish nonsense? Perhaps not, according to a recent study. It turns out that young children’s brains are...
Oct, 01, 2009
A standard dictionary definition of a network is “an interconnected or interrelated chain, group, or system.” A cursory look at our surroundings shows that networks are ubiquitous. For...
Oct, 01, 2007
Pattern-classifiers interpret fMRI data
Peek inside the skull of a couch potato watching reruns on TV and you’ll see non-stop patterns of blood flow throughout the brain. If you learn to pick out which activity patterns match up with...
Oct, 01, 2010
A computer algorithm manipulates antibodies to predict which forms will bind their targets more tightly
The word “antibody” conjures images of our bodies fighting off bacteria and viruses. But because they can latch onto their targets with great precision, antibodies are also used to treat...
Jan, 01, 2008
Several big-dollar initiatives received NIH funding in late 2010
In the current economic climate, every research dollar counts. Fortunately, when it comes to biomedical computing, not everyone has been left counting change. Several big-dollar initiatives received...
Apr, 01, 2011
Plot shows how functional communities in yeast protein interaction networks change in size and nature at different levels of resolution
Splashes of bold color seem to drip down the page, bringing to mind the paintings of Jackson Pollock. Spurred by the beauty of the image she had created, Anna Lewis,* a graduate student studying...
Apr, 01, 2011
Capturing meaning in functional MRI
Thinking of a noun—a peach, train, or bird, for example—activates specific parts of the brain. Now, scientists have trained a computer to predict such activation patterns. The...
Oct, 01, 2008
T-Rex in the Slow Lane
by Kristen Cobb
Tyrannosaurus rex is often pictured baring its teeth, crouching, and running swiftly after its prey, but these images are largely based on human fancy...
Jan, 01, 2006
Metagenomes give a picture of the genes driving metabolic processes important to bacterial growth and survival in different environments.
We know they are there, but most microbial denizens of deep oceans, sea floor vents, even our own intestines, remain a mystery. Because most microbes won’t grow in the lab, researchers have few...
Jul, 01, 2008