Page 167 - Visions of the Future Chemistry and Life Science

9

Exploring human organs with computers

Paul J. Kolston
MacKay Institute of Communication and Neuroscience, University of Keele,
Sta≈ordshire ST5 5BG, UK

9.1 Introduction

Your body is an extraordinarily complex piece of biological machinery. Even
when you are sitting still in a quiet room your blood is being pumped to
every tissue, your kidneys are filtering body fluids, your immune system is
guarding against infection and your senses are continuously monitoring all
kinds of information from their surroundings. Scientists are very good at
studying single molecules and single cells but the challenge of understand-
ing molecular and cellular processes in entire organs or body systems is a
daunting one. Fortunately, although organs are complex, they do not rely
on magic. Their behaviour is controlled by basic laws of physics that can be
described by mathematical equations. By solving these equations on com-
puters, scientists are able to investigate the operation of complete organs
with a flexibility and level of detail that is impossible experimentally.
This article shows how computers have already illuminated the work-
ings of a variety of biological systems, with a particular emphasis on the
operation of the ear. Soon it will be possible to represent in a computer
model every single cell contained within a whole organ. These models will
lead to a profoundly deeper understanding of how biological organs work,
whilst reducing dramatically the need for animal experimentation. Longer
term, computer modelling will provide a valuable tool in the design of new,
simpler cellular structures that would mimic the known operation of a bio-
logical organ to either replace their defective counterparts or to perform

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