Computer Graphics Rendering of Pathogens Help Cure Diseases
Posted on Feb 13, 08 01:58 PM PDT
This looks like a crazy math graph, but it is a 3D rendering of a strain of Salmonella typhimurium, a disease agent. Such an image can tell researchers where medications can land/attach to the salmonella to disable it. The image is generated based on how X-Rays reflects on the proteins.
Of course this is a great demonstration of how critical it is to visualize stuff. After all an image is the most “informative” type of data. In the end, it is possible that the same hardware that you use to play games will contribute to advancing medicine.
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By Martin , 13/02/08 6:49 PM (CommentID #484212)
I don't get what is new here? X-ray crystallography is done for years now, generating exactly those images of proteins (like the one shown).
BTW this is of course an image of a protein isolated from the bacteria Salmonella t., not an image of the bacterium itself.
It is indeed true that imaging is crucial for todays science. It would be great though if such an image could be generated without X-ray crystallography, just based on computer modeling of the protein folding - but this will take some years still...
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