Computer modeling aids medical research

HOUGHTON, Mich., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists are combining agent-based computer modeling and the use of graphic processing units to provide a powerful new tool for medical researchers.

Michigan Technological University researchers led by Assistant Professor Roshan D'Souza want to model complex biological systems, such as the human immune response to a tuberculosis bacterium.

Denise Kirschner of the University of Michigan developed the TB model and gave it to D'Souza's team, which programmed it into a graphic processing unit.

Computer models offer significant advantages. "You can create a mouse that's missing a gene and see how important that gene is," said Kirschner. "But with agent-based modeling, we can knock out two or three genes at once."

"With a $1,400 desktop, we can beat a computing cluster," said D'Souza. "We are effectively democratizing supercomputing and putting these powerful tools into the hands of any researcher. Every time I present this research, I make it a point to thank the millions of video gamers who have inadvertently made this possible."