Cray and US national Cancer Institute collaborate on bioinformatics toolsSeattle 09 July 2001 Cray is collaborating with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop bioinformatics research tools substantially more powerful than those available today. Bioinformatics is a high-potential market that involves applying computer technology to biology and medicine. In an initial demonstration project, scientists at the NCI's Advanced Biomedical Computing Center in Frederick, Md., produced a comprehensive map of short tandem repeat sequences (STRs) - often used as gene markers - for the entire human genome. Using the Cray SV1 supercomputer located at the NCI, computations that previously took hours are being completed in seconds.
By exploiting several unique, ultra-fast technologies originally
designed into Cray supercomputers for classified government use, the
NCI and Cray are working to create genome analysis software capable of
identifying and analyzing genes involved in cancer and other diseases.
Short tandem repeats, also known as microsatellites, are
repetitive sequences of DNA that scientists have exploited for several
years as tools to map new genes, study the structure of chromosomes,
and compare the DNA of different species, all of which are major areas
of interest in biology and medical research.
Other bioinformatics software tools under development in the
NCI-Cray collaboration include: non-tandem repeats, EST cluster
assembly, CG island detection, genome assembly from BAC clones, SNP
(single nucleotide polymorphism) analysis, and the extension to
protein sequences for proteomic applications.
The NCI's Advanced Biomedical Computing Center (Frederick, Md.)
serves 1,800 biological researchers worldwide. Using a Cray
supercomputer, ABCC played a critical role in solving the 3-D
structure of HIV-1 protease, an enzyme that HIV utilizes to infect
human immune cells. With the 3-D structure clarified, scientists were
able to design highly effective protease inhibitors that are now the
mainstay of AIDS therapy.
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