Abstract

Abstract: This is the great challenge for biology today. It is also the great challenge for computer science; bioinformatics is not enough and computational biology is still in its infancy. We have to have a theory of the computational arhitecture of biological systems, of how outcomes are generated in the hardware of living systems. Computational biology must reflect biological computation. I will discuss this in my talk and give some examples as to how this can inform knowlesge systems for biology

Biography: Sydney Brenner, Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Crick-Jacobs Center, is one of the past century’s leading pioneers in genetics and molecular biology. Most recently, Brenner has been studying vertebrate gene and genome evolution. His work in this area has resulted in new ways of analyzing gene sequences, which has developed a new understanding of the evolution of vertebrates.

Among his many notable discoveries, Brenner established the existence of messenger RNA and demonstrated how the order of amino acids in proteins is determined. He also conducted pioneering work with the roundworm, a model organism now widely used to study genetics. His research with Caenorhabditis elegans garnered insights into aging, nerve cell function and controlled cell death, or apoptosis.

Sydney is a 2002 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate, shared with H. Robert Horvitz and John Sulston.