COLLABORATORY EXTENSION TO CHIMERA

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。计算机网络技术的进步已经改变了许多与科学研究相关的实践。高速网络可及性的增加和高性能计算资源成本的降低为研究人员通过各种基于网络的手段快速传播信息创造了一个环境。为了利用这一趋势，我们编写了对Chimera分子建模系统的扩展，允许地理位置遥远的研究人员实时进行“共享”分子建模会话。这个被称为“协作实验室”的软件创造了一个环境，在这个环境中，每个连接到“会话”的用户都对正在查看的模型拥有平等的控制权，任何参与者对模型状态的改变（例如颜色、表示、方向的改变）都会立即传播给其他参与者。因此，在整个会话过程中始终维护模型的同步视图。协作实验室被设计为在标准网络连接（使用Internet协议）上工作，并且已经在多个参与者（点对点和三人或三人以上的小组）上进行了测试。与商业上可用的视频会议产品相结合，该软件有效地使一组科学家，位于全国各地，都在同一个项目上工作，以一种类似的方式进行他们的研究，如果他们都在同一个校园。在过去的一年里，协作开发主要集中在增加软件的稳定性上。此外，还添加了一些功能，使用户能够考虑特殊的网络条件，包括防火墙或路由器的存在（在跨DSL网络连接时可能会出现这种情况）。协作实验室定期更新，以支持在协作会议期间使用新的Chimera功能。该合作实验室目前作为嵌合体分子建模包的一部分进行分发。关于这个项目的信息可以在http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/Research/collaboratory/上找到

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Advances in computer networking technology have reformed many of the practices associated with scientific research. Increases in accessibility to high speed networks, and the decreasing cost of high-performance computing resources have created an environment in which researchers can rapidly disseminate information through various network-based means. In an effort to take advantage of this trend, we have written an extension to the Chimera Molecular Modeling System, that allows researchers at geographically distant locations to conduct a 'shared' molecular modeling session in real time. This software, called a 'Collaboratory' (collaborative laboratory) creates an environment in which every user connected to a 'session' has equal control over the model(s) being viewed, and a change made by any participant to the state of the models (e.g. change in color, representation, orientation) is instantly propogated to the other participants. Thus, a synchronized view of the models is maintained at all times throughout a session. The Collaboratory was designed to work over a standard network connection (using Internet Protocol), and has been tested with multiple participants (point-to-point, and groups of three or more). In conjunction with commercially available videoconferencing products, this software effectively enables a group of scientists, located throughout the country, all working on the same project, to conduct their research in a manner similar to if they were all on the same campus. Collaboratory development in the past year has focused primarily on increasing the stability of the software. Additionally, features have been added to enable the user to account for special network conditions, including the presence of a firewall or router (as can be the case when working across a DSL network connection). The Collaboratory is regularly updated to support the use of new Chimera features during collaborative sessions. The Collaboratory is currently being distributed as part of the Chimera Molecular Modeling package. Information about this project can be found at http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/Research/collaboratory/