reberhar@inf.ethz.ch (Rolf Georg Eberhardt) (03/11/91)
Computational Biochemistry Research at ETH Zuerich ================================================== The CBRG -------- The Computational Biochemistry Research Group (CBRG) is a research group at the Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule Zuerich (ETH) in Switzerland, involving researchers from Organic Chemistry and Computer Science. Its main research goal is the derivation of biological/genetic information and theories through the analysis of genetic sequences. Current Interests ----------------- The CBRG is mainly interested in the following topics: - Cross-matching of an entire DNA-database against itself to record all significant homologies. - The computation of a theoretical measure of evolution either for homologous sequences, in which case we compute the distance from divergence, or for sets of sequences, in which case we compute phylogenetic (evolutionary) trees. In both cases we are interested in modelling and computing evolutionary distances between homologous sequences. - The effective visual representation of evolutionary information. - The search for genetic clocks, i.e. methods for estimating age of divergences based on sequence information. The goal of this research is to obtain timing information as reliable as possible. We have been studying methods based on non-coding DNA and methods based on the redundancy of the genetic code for this clock. - The reconstruction of ancestral sequences through probabilistic models. The main tool for our research is the DSF (DNA Searching Facility) system. DSF is interactive, has a set of powerful primitive operations. DSF currently runs on Sun-3, Sun-4/SPARC, DECstation 3100 and on MIPS machines. The CBRG will distribute binaries of DSF via ftp free of charge. If you are interested in our research we will gladly send you a hard-copy of our research paper describing CBRG and its activities. We can be reached through: e-mail: reberhar@inf.ethz.ch mail: ETH Zuerich Institut fuer wissenschaftliches Rechnen CRBG CH-8092 Zuerich ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rolf Eberhardt, Inst. fuer wissenschaftliches Rechnen, ETH Zuerich, Switzerland e-mail: reberhar@inf.ethz.ch