Those who search for a key fitting into the lock need to have a spatial mental image of it. This also holds true for researchers having to grasp shapes and structures of molecules in order to design new medication. For this purpose, bio-computer-scientists in Saarbrücken and Tübingen have developed the freely available software Ballview. 

With the aid of this software, one can dive into the virtual world of active pharmaceutical ingredient molecules, DNA and viruses, comparable to a 3-D cinema. Besides, the scientists have enabled international research groups to cooperate in the design of medication via the new 3-D internet.For the first time, the Saarbrücken Bio-computer scientists are going to present these findings at the Cebit Computer tradeshow 2010 from March 2nd to 6th in Hanover at the Saarland exhibit.With help from the Ballview software, complicated molecules and its physical characteristics as well as comprehensive biological systems like viruses can be calculated and visualized. Spatial structures of molecules are depicted stereoscopically, so that researchers are more effortlessly able to mentally imagine them.

In order to do so, two images are placed on top of each other on a screen in a way for the viewer to be able to see it through 3-D-glasses with a tremendous depth perception. By doing so, the user gets a highly realistic spatial impression and is able to move the proteins or viruses directly on the screen, zoom into certain areas and then work on them. Advanced input devices like the 3-D-Sapcemouse, which allows for moving objects in virtual environments, are implemented. Headtracking, a method that registers the user’s head movements via infrared sensors, also helps to navigate.

Dr. Andreas Hildebrand directs a research group at the Center for Bioinformatics and the Intel Visual Computing Institute at the Saarland University. His team combined the new visualization technique with the Ray-Tracing-Technique, which has been made market-ready by the computer graphics team including Professor Philipp Slusallek. Thereby, the molecule’s spatial structures can be visualized in a very realistic way, depicting light, shadow and reflections. This extended Ballview software that previously could only be utilized on two-dimensional monitors, can now be viewed in 3-D cinemas on stereoscopic screens. Visitors at the Cebit tradeshow in Hanover will have the opportunity to do so.

Since several research groups all over the world cooperate in medication design, the Saarbrücken scientists have also created the possibility to exchange and display three dimensional images via the internet. The necessary 3-D technology for the Internet, called “XML3D” has been developed by a research team around Professor Philipp Slusallek at the Intel Visual Computing Institute at Saarland University and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. By expanding a conventional web browser, complex three dimensional graphics can be edited. This new web-technology has also been implemented into the Ballview software. Therefore, scientist will be able to view molecules in a three dimensional manner and work on them together via the internet on their computer screens.

Ballview has been developed in the context of a research project at the Max-Planck-Institute for Computer Science in Saarbrücken. Today, the Open-Source-Program is being refined by three teams of researchers at the Center for Bioinformatics in Saarbrücken and Tübingen. People involved are, among others, Dr. Andreas Hildebrandt, Professor Hans-Peter Lenhof (Saarland University), Professor Oliver Kohlbacher (University of Tübingen) and Anna Dehof (Saarland University).

The Raytracing-Library RTfact is being developed by Professor Philipp Slusallek’s team. Among others, Iliyan Georgiev and Lukas Marsalek from Saarland University are involved.

Your questions will be answered by:
Dr. Andreas Hildebrandt
Zentrum für Bioinformatik
Phone: +49 681/302-68611
anhi@bioinf.uni-sb.de

Source: Saarland University

• 3-D cinema for Biolabs accelerates the development of medication (Cebit 2010)