Study to help solve health problems by understanding gene, protein behavio...( re creating software tools to assist mo...)

"To understand how cells respond to their environments, we must understand the molecular machinery that lies inside," Tyson said. "Geneticists can open the cell and identify the relevant genes and proteins and how they connect to each other. From this information, we have to reconstruct the wiring diagram of the cells control circuitssomething like the wiring diagram for a VCR, only much more complicated. The challenge is to figure out how the cell works, so we can control it to our advantage or fix it when its broken. The problem is, cells dont come with instruction manuals, or even with certified wiring diagrams. We have to guess the wiring diagram from the clues supplied by geneticists and biochemists, and then figure out how the contraption works."

To do this, modelers convert their hypothetical wiring diagram into precise mathematical equations and use computers to predict the behavior of the model. They then compare the behavior of the model with the observed behavior of cells to see if the hypothesis and reality agree, Tyson said. "If they do, then we can have some confidence that the wiring diagram is correct, and we can use it to predict new experiments. From beginning to end, we need to collaborate closely with experimentalists to give us specific information about the mechanism itself and the idiosyncratic behavior of real, living cells."

For many years, theoretical biologists have been building small models with restricted sets of experiments, but the goal of BioSPICE is to create software to facilitate simulation of complex, realistic molecular control systemssimulations that can be truly useful in solving military and health-related problems, Tyson said. He likened this to the change in the electronics industry: "When people were designing toasters and crystal radios," Tyson said, "they could do it without a fancy computer. Now, however, electrical ci
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Contact: John Tyson
tyson@vt.edu
540-231-4662
Virginia Tech
7-Mar-2002