IBM & Genome Institute of Singapore Collaboration May Lead to Better Understanding of Cell Process Regulation

IBM & Genome Institute of Singapore Collaboration May Lead to Better Understanding of Cell Process Regulation

IBM (NYSE: IBM), in collaboration with the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), today revealed results from a joint research study that could potentially alter our views of how cell processes are regulated. The two teams have discovered that microRNAs, small molecules that are an important regulatory component in the machinery of living cells, likely exert their influence much more widely than previously thought.

Extensive experiments conducted by the GIS validate findings generated by a mathematical model developed by the IBM team. The work is expected to provide insight on microRNA-based regulation in diseases such as cancers, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes and others, and to suggest possible avenues for novel diagnostics and the development of therapeutics.

“Our collaboration with the GIS team illustrates the increasing impact that joint work between computational scientists and biologists can have in facilitating advances in basic biology,” said Isidore Rigoutsos, Manager of the Bioinformatics Group in IBM Research’s Computational Biology Center. “The scientific community continues to reveal the increasing importance of microRNAs in determining a cell’s type and function. This joint effort is generating new insights regarding the function of these molecules,” said Bing Lim, Leader of the Stem Cell Biology Group at GIS.

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