While I was writing my last article on predictive tools and their emerging role in drug development some one posed the question of whether or not these approaches will ever really save money. They found it unlikely that a drug candidate would ever really be shut down just because some model suggests it might have possible side effects. Instead this prediction would just lead to more testing and more spending. Is this true?

More and more predictive tools and computer modeling are becoming a common part of science. Protein structure, pathway interactions and molecule interactions are all being modeled these days. Whole careers are focused on finding ways to make the modeling systems more accurate.

What is the real role of modeling in science? Will we ever be able to wholly replace bench work with computer simulation? Are these tools real value as sign posts-telling us which direction is the best to follow? Or will they forever be relegated to telling us things we already know? Are there any drawbacks to computer modeling?

Let me know what you think.

To read my article on the drug interaction modeling approach of Chemical Systems Biology click here.

Image provided by addiandcassie.com/rethink/

At a routine check-up recently the nurse asked me if I drink and I said yes. When she asked me how much I said it probably evened out to about one a day. She told me that was nothing, but what if I was one of those people who crammed a week's worth of drinks into a single night? Would that still be nothing? 

Not a lot is known about the effects of binge drinking aside from the splitting headaches and nauseau people experience the next morning. But what do those symptoms mean for your body? After all, isn't this a mild kind of alcohol poisoning? Researchers at UC San Diego are starting to look into the effects of binge drinking and what it does to a person's brain.

To find out more read my article under "Local Sci-News" above or click here