July 22, 2012

Image Caption: The Covert Lab incorporated more than 1,900 experimentally observed parameters into their model of the tiny parasite Mycoplasma genitalium.

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports Your Universe Online

In what is being called a breakthrough effort for computational biology, researchers from a pair of US universities have successfully completed a software model of an organisms entire lifespan.

The research, which was led by Stanford University Assistant Professor of Bioengineering Markus Covert, used data obtained from over 900 previous scientific papers in order to account for every molecular interaction that occurs during the life cycle of the single-celled Mycoplasma genitalium, Max McClure of the California institution said in a July 19 report.

Coverts team, which also included scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), then completed a computerized model of the worlds smallest free-living bacterium, which typically lives in the human genital and respiratory tracts, John Markoff of the New York Times wrote on Friday.

According to Stanford, their work, which is detailed in the journal Cell, fulfills a longstanding goal for the field. Not only does the model allow researchers to address questions that arent practical to examine otherwise, it represents a stepping-stone toward the use of computer-aided design in bioengineering and medicine.

Likewise, Markoff reports that experts believe the research represents a tremendous advance in the development of computerized laboratories, which theoretically could conduct thousands of experiments much more quickly than currently possible. It could also help the medical field in their fight against cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and other serious diseases, while speeding-up the early stages of screening for new compounds and aiding the research of molecular biologists in the process, the Times reporter added.

This achievement demonstrates a transforming approach to answering questions about fundamental biological processes, James M. Anderson, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI), said in a statement. Comprehensive computer models of entire cells have the potential to advance our understanding of cellular function and, ultimately, to inform new approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

The model presented by the authors is the first truly integrated effort to simulate the workings of a free-living microbe, and it should be commended for its audacity alone, a pair of independent commentators, Peter L. Freddolino and Saeed Tavazoie, both of Columbia University, wrote in an editorial accompanying the article, according to Markoff. This is a tremendous task, involving the interpretation and integration of a massive amount of data.

Read more:
Computer Model Maps Organism's Entire Lifespan Completed