Systems Biology: Where Computer Science, Engineering, and Biology Meet

Ernest Fraenkel, associate professor of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discusses how the algorithms developed at Microsoft Research have potential impact on biology, specifically investigations into how genetic mutations can cause disease. Differing computational approaches to the same data have helped give context to which data points should be included and excluded when examining genes and which biological processes are occurring. How these genes are connected to one another then can be used to learn what is happening—and, potentially, change these processes to help treat or restore health.