Brief note: the concept of the computational microscope

Accompanying the story “Scientists are approaching the first near-atomic simulations of whole cells”

In the context of my longer article titled “Scientists are approaching the first near-atomic simulations of whole cells”, the term “computational microscope” refers to the ability of molecular dynamics simulations to reveal the dynamics of all the components of a cell with atomic resolution.

I don’t really like the term much, because it oversells computational simulations, at least regarding their current capabilities. Besides, it may be a bit confusing for people, because this isn’t a true microscope -in the sense that it’s not dealing with light going through a piece of tissue to see it. It just refers to a simulation of what one could potentially see, if a sufficiently powerful microscope existed that can analyze living cells. The idea behind it is that just like a real microscope allows us to observe the structure and behavior of biological specimens at the cellular or subcellular level, a computational microscope provides a virtual platform for researchers to study the structure and dynamics of biological systems using molecular simulations. And since most simulations are of atomic or near-atomic detail, then such a microscope can zoom in much, much more…