""Douglas Kell"" <dbk at aber.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:3A55BAD9.27497.B210967 at localhost...
> > Mike Cantor asked:
> > >
> > >2. What are the prospects for larger-scale modeling projects like the
> > >NIGMS's projected 25$ glue grant for a "Virtual Cell." Is this a naive
and
> > >premature waste of money, or will it be a fountain of knowledge.
> >
>> Actually I am very favourably disposed to the e-cell type of project,
> and I am hopnig that the UK can start one (it will also bring in all
> the mol biol people who want to get into /metabolic modelling but
> don't know the right people to hold their hands).
>
If you're going to do an e-cell type project do not do it the way the e-cell
project was done. I haven't taken too much notice of the E-Cell software
mainly because I've found it so difficult to use but recently I got the
chance to meet the team where I was surprised to learn that the only thing
E-Cell can do is carry out time course simulations. There is no analysis
available of any sort, eg optimisation, bifurcation, steady states, mct
(even bst), etc etc. And don't fall into the trap of spending 6 weeks trying
to work out why a particular simulation did a certain thing when an
electrical engineer sitting next to me pointed out to me what was going on
in about 2 minutes flat. Trouble with large models is that one can get
blinded by all the detail.
Herbert Sauro
