Overview of Significant Challenges in Molecular Biology Amenable to Computational Methods

Abstract

Many challenging but significant opportunities exist for the development of theoretical approaches in modern Cell and Molecular Biology. The creation of data bases which contain extremely large amounts of information has proven to be an unexpectedly important factor in gaining acceptance and respectability for theoretical work that builds on nothing more than what is in the data base itself, such as theoretical work involving the analysis of known protein structures, or the development of more powerful homology searches. Other opportunities, not yet accepted by a broad community, involve work on complex networks (metabolic, genetic, immunologic, and neural networks) and work on the “physics of how things work.” The DOE National Laboratory System represents the ideal institution that would be well suited to the role of being an “incubator” for the creation of a theoretical and computational discipline within modern biology.