Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!uunet!ig!daemon From: GOLUB@BIONET-20.ARPA Newsgroups: bionet.general Subject: Brookhaven database cancellation Message-ID: <5822@ig.ig.com> Date: 9 Apr 88 18:13:51 GMT Sender: daemon@presto.ig.com Lines: 38 From: ELLIS E. GOLUB I protest the cancellation of the Brookhaven database by BIONET. This was a short sighted, penny wise-pound foolish decision which will have a long term, negative impact on BIONET. Protein structure-function analysis is among the most active areas of research in molecular biology computing, and the Brookhaven database is the raw material on which much of this research depends. By this decision, BIONET is abrogating its leadership position as a molecular biology computing resource, and the focus of protein structural analysis will be driven elsewhere. If BIONET insists on using user demand as the sole criterion for resource allocation, it must inevitably move away from the cutting edge of science to a trailing position. The apparent lack of user interest in the Brookhaven database partially resulted from the fact that software for accessing it has only recently become available on BIONET. By then, the database was already stale, and had lost some of its usefulness. The upcoming hardware changes at BIONET would have greatly facilitated the implementation of sophisticated graphics software which is normally used for looking at three dimensional protein structure. When the hardware gets here, BIONET users will have nothing to look at. I urge other concerned BIONET subscribers to join me in protesting this decision. As a main thrust of molecular biology computing shifts towards protein structure analysis, we must not allow BIONET to fall behind. Ellis Golub Biochemistry Department University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (215) 898-4629 GOLUB@BIONET-20.ARPA GOLUB@PENNDRLN -------