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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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