PUNE: Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is
the premier R&D organisation of the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology for carrying out R&D in Information Technology, Electronics and
associated areas. Today it has announced that it will be putting a major thrust
on Cancer research in coming future through supercomputing.
Speaking at the unveiling of CDAC’s new super computer the
PARAM Shavak-Virtual Reality (VR), Dr Hemant Darbari, Director General, C-DAC, said
“We are doing a lot of research in the area of bio-informatics, which is coming
up in a big way. Our major focus is on cancer treatment using supercomputers as
tool. We have interacted with Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, National Cancer
Institute in US for doing simulation on ‘P53’ molecule on our system.”
‘P53’ also known as TP53 or tumor protein is a gene that codes
for a protein that regulates the cell cycle and hence functions as tumor
suppressor. Darbari also said that his team is working on ‘Drug repositioning.’
“Drug repositioning is the application of known drugs and compounds to treat
new diseases. “Under this concept, C-DAC is working on repurposing, in which
drugs used for diabetes can be used for breast cancer research. A major shift
is going to happen in the field of drug research and development,” Dr. Darbari
added.
“The diabetes drugs used on human beings can be redirected
towards breast cancer treatment. Otherwise one has to go through a long
gestational period before it is ready for human use. We are also trying to put
some ancient knowledge like Ayurveda
to see how it impacts cancer treatment,” Darbari said.
These are some of the major initiatives that will be backed up
with artificial intelligence, he said, adding that the new supercomputer will
help its users to extend the reach beyond traditional domains of design
manufacturing and entertainment.
“This machine can be used in healthcare for drug discovery
research like in area of cancer, battle theatre simulation for defence (battle
inoculation) advertising, education, automobile engineering and even Archaeology.
Ancient extinct kingdoms like Dwarka and civilizations like Harappa can be
recreated by visualizing the original structures using simulators providing
multidimensional images,” he said.
As the scope and complexity of computational needs continue to
increase at colleges universities, professors and administrators are compelled
to seek appropriate and affordable solutions. "PARAM Shavak provides the
computing power necessary to keep academic institutions on the leading edge in
today's competitive market at affordable cost. This system is meant for
research organizations and academic institutions that are on the verge of
adopting high performance computing (HPC) culture in their institutions," Dr.
Darbari said.
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