Summit Supercomputer Draws Molecular Blueprint for Repairing Damaged DNA

Different groups of proteins shown in different colors combine and attach to a broken strand of DNA.

Summit Supercomputer Draws Molecular Blueprint for Repairing Damaged DNA

Sunburns and aging skin are obvious effects of exposure to harmful UV rays, tobacco smoke and other carcinogens. But the effects aren’t just skin deep. Inside the body, DNA is literally being torn apart. Understanding how the body heals and protects itself from DNA damage is vital for treating genetic…

Jeremy RumseyMarch 12, 2025

Industry Science Technology

Exascale Blastoff

With the world’s first exascale supercomputer now fully open for scientific business, researchers can thank the early users who helped get the machine up to speed. Frontier set a new record for computational power when the HPE Cray EX supercomputer at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory debuted…

Matt LakinJune 28, 2023

Science

Supercomputing for Swift Protein Modeling

Uncovering the molecular structures of proteins can help scientists elucidate biological functions of proteins and search for drug candidates for diseases. To better understand proteins, scientists can use imaging techniques to probe their molecular structures. However, many imaging techniques fall short of capturing details at the atomic level. That’s why…

Rachel McDowellJanuary 25, 2022

Science

Supercomputing Exposes Potential Pathways for Inhibiting COVID-19

To explore the inner workings of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2, researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a novel technique. The team — including computational scientists Debsindhu Bhowmik, Serena Chen and John Gounley — ran molecular dynamics simulations of the novel virus…

Elizabeth RosenthalJanuary 25, 2022

Visualization of an aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 particle with various components inside and outside the particle.

Science

We Know #COVIDisAirborne—Now We Have the First Ever Model of an Aerosolized Viral Particle

A team led by Rommie Amaro of the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), has used the Summit supercomputer at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to model an aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 viral particle for the first time. The researchers, collectively dubbed Team #COVIDisAirborne,…

Rachel McDowellNovember 16, 2021

Science

Simulations Reveal Nature’s Design for Error Correction During DNA Replication

DNA replication is one of the most important processes in biology, responsible for ensuring that a cell’s genetic material is copied over to new cells efficiently during cell division. But what happens when there is a mistake? Fortunately, replicative DNA polymerases—the cell’s replication molecular machines—are capable of proofreading the newly…

Rachel McDowellDecember 11, 2020

Science

Summit Uncovers Details of Molecular Ferris Wheels Inside Cell Structures

Using the Summit supercomputer at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a team at the Arizona State University Biodesign Institute has confirmed details of a molecular mechanism that cell organelles use to regulate the pH of their environment—and it looks a lot like a Ferris…

Rachel McDowellOctober 28, 2020

Science

Researchers Build Bacteria’s Photosynthetic Engine

A team led by Klaus Schulten of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign used Titan to achieve a milestone in the field of biomolecular simulation, modeling a complete photosynthetic organelle of the bacteria Rhodobacter sphaeroides in atomic detail.

Jonathan HinesJuly 29, 2015

Science

Unlocking Lignin for Sustainable Biofuel

Turning trees, grass, and other biomass into fuel for automobiles and airplanes is a costly and complex process. A team of biofuel researchers from ORNL are working to change that.

Jonathan HinesJuly 7, 2015

NAMD