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Hearing on Computational Biology
Testimony of
Dr. Mary Clutter, Assistant Director for
Biological Sciences
National Science
Foundation
Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
Subcommittee on Science, Technology and
Space
U.S. Senate
September 17, 1996
The biological sciences are poised to become to the 21st Century
what physics has been to the 20th Century. Just as the knowledge
about the structure of DNA in the 1950's led to a profound
revolution in biological understanding, today we are poised to make
a similar leap, in which advanced computational tools will be used
to understand biological systems in all their complexity while
preserving and exploiting those systems in a sustainable
fashion.
- Many of society's needs are likely to be met, at least in
part, by advances in computational biology. Examples of potential
advances include:
- The development of better computational methods in
structural biology that could result in the production of novel
drugs and tools for diagnosing disease in animals and plants.
- The discovery and preservation of biodiversity and increased
understanding of the biological aspects of global change through
improved tools to analyze remotely sensed data.
- Improved bioremediation techniques through the application
of computational biology to information on protein structures to
develop "designer enzymes" that break down hazardous waste.
- The development of advances in plant genome sequencing to
understand the functions of genes in agriculturally important
species.
- Computational biology is the application of modern computer,
mathematical, and information sciences to solve biological
problems that require large scale computation and analysis. It can
be described as an emerging discipline, for the computational
power of computers touches deeply on every level of biological
research.
- Computational biology deals with two pressing needs: (1) The
management and (2) the analysis of biological information.
- Bioinformatics, the management component of computational
biology, combines the fields of computer science and biology to
manage the vast quantities of biological data being produced,
including, for example, genomic, neuroscience, and biodiversity
data.
Computational analytical tools have been very
important to understanding complex biological systems. Advances in
computational modeling, remote sensing, and geographic information
systems have become vital to understanding ecosystem processes.
Neuroscience also benefits from the use of computational tools to
understand the complexity of the human nervous system.
- The Federal government has responded to the importance of
computational biology through a number of programs that provide
funds for research and education, particularly at academic
institutions. Several major programs involve partnerships among
agencies.
- An interagency program that is particularly important is the
Arabidopsis thaliana Genome Sequencing Program. This
partnership between the National Science Foundation, the
Department of Energy, and the Department of Agriculture will
produce significant benefits for basic plant research as well as
for agriculture and biotechnology. It also involves international
collaboration, for the U.S. program is working closely with
similar endeavors in Japan, France, and the European
Union.
- The National Science Foundation has been a leader in advancing
computational biology through several of its programs. The
Computational Biology Program supports the development of database
architectures and tools needed to address the complexities and
dimensions encountered in biological data. The Computational
Neuroscience Program supports research that seeks to understand
the computational functions of the brain and nervous system and
the architecture of the neural machinery used to carry out these
computations.
- Equally important is the education of a new generation of
biologists who are also adept at using computational innovations.
This can be achieved through interdisciplinary training programs
such as NSF's Research Training Groups.
- Computational biology is part of a larger revolution that will
affect how all of science is conducted. This larger revolution is
being driven by the generation and use of information in all forms
and in enormous quantities and requires the development of
intelligent systems for gathering, storing and accessing
information. This unprecedented technology-based use of
information will be a driving force in not only fundamental
advances in science and engineering, but also of job creation and
economic growth.
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