Sciences Date: December 7, 1992
The energetic young field of computational biology is looking to the coming generation of massively parallel computers for its future, researchers say. These machines, enhanced by the contributions of computer scientists who are developing innovative programming tactics, will be crucial in allowing biological researchers to reach ambitious goals.
"Parallel computers are going to let this field take off," says Andrew McCammon, a theoretical chemist at the University of Houston and one of three scientific directors at the Keck Center for Computational Biology, a joint effort with Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine, all based in Houston.
The effective use of ever more powerful computers to simulate the actions of proteins, enzymes, and other complex molecules in computational biology relies on a remarkable marriage of disciplines, the scientists say. Biologists, chemists, physicists, computer scientists, and mathematicians are all contributing to develop new methodologies and move ...
