Dutch Focus
Many recent scientific breakthroughs have been achieved through detailed analysis of ‘big data’. Consequently, demand is growing for access to powerful computers that can efficiently process this information. To assist researchers, an EU- funded project, WeNMR, is facilitating access to IT resources which can considerably enhance their capabilities
A user-friendly e-infrastructure for life-science research
“Science is evolving. Relying on a single method is no longer the most practical way of
engaging with, or trying to solve
scientific questions,” says Alexandre Bonvin. To effectively progress, he argues, one needs to rely on a combination of different types of experimental methods and computations to address
the big
challenges. A professor in computational structural biology at the Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research
at Utrecht
University, Bonvin’s work is a paradigm of this principle. The groups of Bonvin and of his colleagues, Professors Baldus Boelens,
exploit NMR spectroscopy, a technique that places atomic and molecular 16 and
subjects within a magnetic field to obtain information about their properties. “We’re looking at the structure,
function and
dynamics of bio-molecules, studying them in a solution or solid state. By scrutinising their magnetic resonances (a response to the magnetic field), we
can measure
distances between atoms, enabling us to construct models of them. By examining where and how they interact, we can then begin to build physics-based simulations to
help understand
relationships.” “The
role of their functional biomolecules is very
important to human biology, since they define functions and communication
within our bodies,” he continues. “They are a critical component in the machinery that makes life possible. Understanding how they communicate is an important step, for example,
in the design of new
drugs. Diseases are often a result of miscommunication at the molecular level, or may occur when these minute bodies fail to interact correctly.” Bonvin
has developed software that
assists researchers in interpreting the large amounts of data harvested from NMR and other experimental
or
bioinformatics methods. For over a decade, they have pioneered and refined a system called HADDOCK (High Ambiguity Driven
Insight Publishers | Projects
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