The UCL Beacon Project

"...in silico biology is an emerging discipline that brings computing
power to bear on a wide range of biological problems-from analysing
genomes to recreating neural networks. Over the past quarter of a
century, molecular biology has begun to reveal the amazing complexity
of molecules and biochemical interactions within cells, tissues and
organs. And yet what has been revealed so far is a mere trickle of
information compared with the deluge that will flow from work on the
human genome. Making sense of this information, and understanding how
the various pieces interact to produce such complicated biological
activities as heartbeats, requires more complex ways of thinking
about physiology than can be done on the back of an envelope. Hence
the promise of 'computational physiology'. Computational physiology
is more than an academic exercise; it excites commercial interest in
many quarters. " (The Economist, December 5, 2001).

The UCL Beacon project is a collaborative project in computational biology. The aim of the project is to build a model of the human liver by composing models of biological entities down to the level of cells.

For more information on the project, see the summary.

February 7, 2006
Contact: Peter Saffrey