Gannett News Service John Yaukey For other columns by John click here . Some computers have gotten so small and light they can be misplaced almost as easily as car keys. Supercomputers are so valuable to scientists because they can use them to model extremely complex systems like roiling storms or fibrillating hearts with a high degree of accuracy then translate those models into highly realistic moving graphics that reveal volumes more than reams of static data. Grand challenges Many of the research projects the new TCS will handle have been dubbed ''grand challenges'' in science because they are both extremely important and monstrously complex. Few biological processes are as essential to life as the complex molecular origami known as protein folding.
Proteins begin in the cells as one-dimensional strings.
The wrinkles in digestive enzymes, for example, are perfectly suited to trap starch molecules, which can be placed near compounds that break them down into sugars. Much of the complexity of the process stems from the fact that every time a protein chain twists during folding, which happens in trillionths of a second, it sets up a new pattern of attractions and repulsions between its constituent atoms. These forces play a significant role in determining the way the protein ultimately relaxes into its final form. Unraveling this mystery will probably require far more power than even the new TCS will be able to provide. Earthquake ground motion.