BiotechMashup

As mathematics continues to become an increasingly important component in undergraduate biology programs, a more comprehensive understanding of the use of algebraic models is needed by the next generation of biologists to facilitate new advances in the life sciences, according to researchers.

(Virginia Tech) Math-based computer models are a powerful tool for discovering the details of complex living systems. John Tyson, professor of biology at Virginia Tech, is creating such models to discover how cells process information and make decisions.

(Virginia Tech) The National Institutes of Health has awarded Virginia Tech computer science, biology, and bioinformatics researchers a $2.13 million grant to develop new systems biology approaches to study cells, one of the most basic units of life.

(Virginia Tech) The US Department of Defense has awarded a prestigious scholarship to a graduate research assistant at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech whose research includes assessing the benefits and risks of synthetic biology.

(Virginia Tech) Under the supervision of a Virginia Tech plant pathologist, a group of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students isolated and characterized a formerly unknown group of bacteria.

(Virginia Tech) A new "tree of life" has been constructed by researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech for the gamma-proteobacteria, a large group of medically and scientifically important bacteria. By building powerful phylogenetic trees, scientists are able to quickly identify similarities and differences between the make-up of many different organisms, crucial information in the search for treatments to fight anything from the bugs that cause food poisoning to the pathogens that cause life-threatening diseases.

(Virginia Tech) Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have discovered how abscisic acid, a natural plant hormone with known beneficial properties for the treatment of disease, helps fight inflammation.

(Virginia Tech) Romesh C. Batra, Virginia Tech professor of engineering science and mechanics, is a 2010 recipient of the Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award sponsored by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and Dominion, an energy company based in Richmond, Va.

(Virginia Tech) Virginia Bioinformatics Institute researchers and collaborators are using mathematical modeling to study immune responses to gut pathogens. The team will use powerful computer simulations to uncover the mechanisms of action underlying immune responses to intestinal pathogens with the aim of accelerating discovery of drug targets for the prevention and treatment of diseases and disorders caused by gut pathogens. An important goal is to allow biologists to use sophisticated tools without becoming computing experts.