But will better supercomputers really help us to understand biology?
Theoretical physics can quantitatively describe a diverse range of inert materials, from high energy plasmas in fusion reactors to ultra-cold atoms at temperatures close to absolute zero. However, even with modern supercomputers we are not currently able to predict how biological molecules, such as proteins and DNA, interact with each other or how they respond to external stimuli, which limits our ability to understand and treat disease. Or is the behaviour of biological molecules so complex that they are beyond the power of theoretical physics to explain them?
Dr Sarah Harris is part of a research group using high performance computing to model biomolecules.
Venue: Hatton Room