CELL CYCLE

During human development and growth, cells must proliferate in an ordered and controlled manner to form the adult body. The cell cycle is a series of events that results in two cells forming from one parent cell. Importantly each daughter cell must be identical to the parent cell, thus successful completion of the cell cycle requires the precise copying and distribution of genetic information contained within DNA. Cell cycle events are orchestrated by a large array of proteins that interact and function together to ensure the cell cycle is precisely controlled. Molecular biologists have uncovered many of these cell cycle proteins. Remarkably, these proteins and how they interact are highly conserved from yeasts to humans. However because the system is very complex, it is not obvious how all these proteins work together to drive the cell cycle forward. In order to use this hard-won information about the mechanisms controlling the cell cycle, computational tools are necessary to reliably..