One of the difficulties associated with biotechnology is that you need to be able to see results on a very small scale, such as at the molecular level. Biotechnicians use a variety of tools to visualize these systems. Computational systems biology (CSB) refers to using tools like algorithms and data structures to create computer models of biological data.CSB is often used in the biotech branch of bioinformatics, which applies statistics and computer science principles to molecular biology. However, it can be very useful in many areas of biotech to be able to see which systems you are working on. Scientists can take the activity of cellular systems like metabolic networks and signal transduction pathways and blow it up to a manageable size and representation on a computer screen. The sources for these models can be databases of numeric values or other types of information. For example, scientists have often found it useful to model the path of infectious diseases to predict the outcome or determine where vaccination would be most effective.The Blue Brain Project, founded in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2005, has a different goalto map the brain in much the same way that the Human Genome Project attempted to map the human DNA system. The BBP has already successfully simulated a rat’s neocortical column, which is a 2 mm structure that contains about 60,000 neurons in humans and 10,000 in rats. However, their main goal is to simulate the processes of the human brain, and director Henry Markram said in 2009 that such an accomplishment would be possible within 10 years.Protein structure prediction is another aspect of computational systems biology, and is particularly useful in biotechnology when working on creating new enzymes. The worldwide Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction (CASP) experiment has taken place every two years starting in 1994, and has helped to ensure consistent progress in protein modeling methods. CASP has become something of a world tournament in the field, with research teams often spending months on their preparation and performance of the experiment.Looking at such a visual representation probably wouldn’t mean much to most of us, but for those who work with these biological systems every day, these images are works of art.