Scientists ready to create 3D computer model of a human cell read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/1165-scientists-ready-to-create-3d-computer-model-of-a-human-cell

The creation of 3D computer model of a human cell would be a monumental breakthrough for biological research and medical science.

According to a new study, advancements in molecular biology and computer science to suggest such a breakthrough isn't far-off.

Ilya Vakser, professor of computational biology and molecular biosciences at the University of Kansas, and one of the co-authors of the new study said, we are trying to capture this emerging milestone development in computational structural biology, which is the tectonic shift from modeling individual biomolecular processes for modeling the entire cell.

Some researchers have attempted to build automated 3D whole cell models, most models focus on specific intercellular processes and component protein complexes, protein interactions, membranes, chromosomes, thermodynamic and kinetic systems.

Researchers believe they're getting closer to fitting these individual models together in a coherent way.

Vakser said, it’s hard because we're just beginning to understand the principal mechanisms of life at the molecular level, it looks extremely complicated but doable, so we're moving very fast not only in our ability to understand how it works at the molecular level but to model it.

The KU researcher said a working 3-D molecular cell model could help replace or augment phases of time-consuming and expensive drug development protocols.

The most obvious benefit of an accurate 3D cell model would be the ability to study underlying mechanisms of human disease and to test the efficacy of treatments.

Vakser said, it will give us the ability to understand mechanisms of drug action, which will be a tremendous boost to our efforts at drug design. It will help us create better drug candidates, potentially shorten the path to new drugs.