Parallel Computation for Medicine and Biology: Applications of Linda At Yale University

Abstract

This article describes research in progress at the Yale University School of Medicine on the use of parallel computation in medicine and biology. We have experi mented with the parallelization of programs from sev eral different biomedical fields, using the machine-in dependent parallel programming language Linda. This research has helped us identify several general prob lem areas in which parallel computation can play a major role: namely, real-time computation, database searching, and computationally intensive algorithms. Methods for designing, debugging, and evaluating programs from each of these three problem areas are discussed. Results and evaluations of example pro grams implemented in each of these areas are pre sented. Finally, certain lessons learned are discussed.