Prev: Welcome, Website, FAQ, and Posting Guidelines (2008-07-28)
Next: Hey Dee on AutoImmune Recovery (Re: Maintenance Dosages)
From: Rod on 30 Jul 2008 03:08

Endo1: You know what?
Endo2: What? You telling?
Endo1: Just heard, IBM reckon thyroid disease might be more complicated
than taking a pill every day.
Endo2: Gee - have to find an easier job.
Endo1: Yes - thinking of sticking to diabetes myself.


The above just might have taken a step towards being more likely. :-)


======

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Uses High Performance IBM
Computer in Pursuit of Medical Treatments
System Helps Researchers Study Role of Molecular Dynamics in
Infertility, Thyroid Conditions




ARMONK, NY and PISCATAWAY, NJ - 29 Jul 2008: Researchers at the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson
Medical School have selected a high performance IBM (NYSE: IBM) computer
to perform research they hope will one day lead to more effective
treatment of medical conditions like infertility and thyroid problems.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than
two million married couples in the U.S. are infertile; and many millions
of Americans are affected by problems associated with the thyroid gland
-- including weight gain, weight loss, depression, and fatigue -- though
many may be unaware of the cause.

The UMDNJ researchers are using the IBM system to create models of
proteins and study the behavior of certain types of sensory molecules,
called receptors, which regulate fertility and thyroid function. These
receptors are related to a family of proteins that perform diverse
functions ranging from detecting light and odors, to controlling blood
pressure and regulating heart function.

While the types of receptors being studied make up a large number of the
molecules found in the human genome, and are common targets for drug
treatments, very little is known about how they work at the molecular
level. By learning more about this, the researchers at UMDNJ hope to
discover how different types of drugs might be used to treat certain
medical conditions more effectively.

Using the high performance IBM system, which has a peak speed of one
teraflops (one trillion floating point operations per second), the UMDNJ
researchers are able to dramatically accelerate the pace of their work.
Calculations that would have normally taken them a year to complete on a
single workstation can now be done in just four days.

Currently, the only way to view the makeup of a protein is through a
50-year-old process called X-ray crystallography, which involves
crystallizing the protein and using a beam of X-rays to get an image --
called a crystal structure -- of the positions of the atoms within it.
However, the receptors being studied at UMDNJ are membrane proteins and,
due to the difficulty of crystallizing this type of protein, crystal
structures exist for only two molecules of this entire family of related
proteins. Furthermore, because crystal structures provide only a
snapshot in time, it has been difficult for researchers to understand
how these types of receptors work.

To get around this problem, the UMDNJ researchers are using the IBM
computer, an e1350 Linux cluster composed of System x3550 servers and 96
processors, to run a program called Amber that was designed by
researchers at the University of California. Amber works by moving the
simulated atoms of a receptor hundreds of thousands of times per second,
many times over, until the researchers get a better idea of how the
receptor is likely to react to other molecules. This process requires
computational capabilities far exceeding those of traditional computers.

"The type of research we're performing is very unique, and it requires
some pretty mind-boggling calculations that could have never been done
on our older systems," said Les Michelson, PhD, assistant director for
special projects at UMDNJ.

Also involved in the project is John Kerrigan, PhD, associate director
of bioinformatics at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, which is a
Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He
says, "With the power of our IBM system, we're gaining new insights into
how these complex molecular switches known as receptors function. The
computer models help guide experimental design in the lab as well as
generate new hypotheses."

"With its significant price/performance advantages and simplified
management capabilities, the e1350 Linux cluster is the ideal high
performance computing platform for the ambitious and important work
being done by the researchers at UMDNJ," said Dave Turek, vice president
of deep computing at IBM.

The researchers have chosen to focus first on receptors that affect
fertility and thyroid function because of the amount of biological
information that already exists, and because of the prevalence of those
problems.

Additionally, because the receptors that control reproduction and
thyroid function have features that are common to other receptors, the
UMDNJ scientists hope their research will also provide insights into the
functions of this large receptor family. This could help uncover better
drug treatments for medical conditions unrelated to thyroid function or
infertility.

About UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
As one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools,
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of
excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the
promotion of community health.

UMDNJ is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences
university with more than 5,700 students attending the state's three
medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical
sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing
and a school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more
than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty
practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch
Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a
Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a
statewide mental health and addiction services network.

For more information on IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com/systems/clusters


<http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/24754.wss>
--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
<www.thyromind.info> <www.thyroiduk.org> <www.altsupportthyroid.org>
 | 
Pages: 1
Prev: Welcome, Website, FAQ, and Posting Guidelines (2008-07-28)
Next: Hey Dee on AutoImmune Recovery (Re: Maintenance Dosages)