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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / APRIL 21, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 16
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Scientific Applications:
PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY PLAYS ROLE IN HUMAN GENOME PROJECT
On April 14, the International Human Genome Consortium announced the
successful completion of the Human Genome Project more than two years ahead of
schedule. The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute carried out nearly one-third of
the work, making it the biggest contributor. Less than three years ago the
international team announced the original working draft of the three billion
letters that make up the code of life. However, the finished sequence is
essential for growth of research worldwide to produce further medical
advances.
Platform's Life Sciences solutions enable scientists to exploit and analyze
diverse types and sources of biological and chemical data in a shorter period
of time; deliver more accurate results to reduce failure rates; and enable
better decision-making earlier in the discovery process. Platform Computing's
software has been crucial to Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute's continued
success in the Human Genome Project. By using Platform LSF, the Institute can
actively manage the process of controlling and optimising its compute power to
accelerate the time to discovery. Distributing the sequencing jobs is an
enormous challenge for the Institute. At any one time, it processes as many as
500,000 jobs across its heterogeneous compute farm.
Most recently, Platform worked with the world-renowned Wellcome Trust Sanger
Institute, to complete the decoding of Chromosome 20, one of the 23 distinct
DNA bundles that carry human genetic material. The results, part of the Human
Genome Project, will help shed light on why people are genetically prone to
diseases such as diabetes, obesity or eczema. Chromosome 20 also carries the
gene that is suspected to make individuals more susceptible to contracting
variant CJD.
"The Human Genome Project has used enormous, scalable compute power to make
the data available throughout the project. The Project is as much an exercise
in IT and systems needs as in lab science and we and our partners will finish
the genome years ahead of schedule partly because of our investment in
flexible systems."
-- Phil Butcher, Head of IT at the Sanger Institute
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