BIOLOGY

Pioneering Studies of 'Cellular Networks' to Put Unprecedented Demands on Compute, Storage and Visualization Solutions: As part of a multi-year collaboration, Silicon Graphics (SGI) today announced it will provide the high-productivity solutions needed to outfit a new world-class cancer research facility in the United Kingdom.

Silicon Graphics has been selected to equip, over the next five or more years, an initiative in integrative network biology at London's renowned The Institute of Cancer Research. Expected to open in spring 2009, the initiative in integrative network biology at The Institute will arm a team of cancer research pioneers with advanced compute, storage and visualization solutions built, implemented and optimized by Silicon Graphics.

Unlike mainstream cancer research, which usually focuses on the structure and behavior of individual genes, proteins or cells, The Institute's effort aims to study how networks of cancer cells interact with each other and surrounding tissues to metastasize or spread throughout the body.

By modeling and simulating how cancer cells interact within the larger biological network, The Institute's researchers hope to achieve breakthroughs that lead to new drugs or treatments that prevent metastasis — the stage when cancer can turn deadly.

"Studying the dynamics of cellular networks will put unprecedented demands on our technology infrastructure, generating enormous data sets that must be processed rapidly, visualized interactively, and accessed on the fly," said Dr. Rune Linding, head of the Cellular and Molecular Logic Team at The Institute of Cancer Research.

The Institute intends to make use of the full range of Silicon Graphics solutions and services.

"The Institute will take a truly innovative approach to cancer research, studying how cancer develops within the complex human biological network," said Dr. Eng Lim Goh, chief technology officer at Silicon Graphics. "We are looking forward to a long and productive relationship with this remarkable institution, as we collaborate to design a technology infrastructure that accelerates insight by giving researchers new tools in this battle for humanity."

"Intel is proud to join with Silicon Graphics in outfitting The Institute with the world's most scalable compute systems based on Intel® Xeon® and Intel® Itanium® processors," said Richard Dracott, General Manager of High Performance Computing at Intel. "This long-term alliance addresses The Institute's unique need for a collaborative relationship that will continue to enable innovation for years to come. As The Institute raises the watermark on cancer research, Intel stands ready to provide the computational engines for that innovation."