The Pirbright Institute chooses an Atos supercomputer to help fight viral diseases of animals and people
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
With its new Bull supercomputer by Atos, The Pirbright Institute, UK will boost
its capability to carry out bioinformatic analysis of animal virus diseases for
research and surveillance purposes
London, 10 January 2017 - High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Big Data
technology provided by Atos will speed up the processing of omics information
and epidemiological studies at the Institute, a world leading centre of research
into viral diseases of livestock and those that spread from animals to people
(zoonoses).
The technology is an essential tool to enable the Institute to continue to
process and analyse huge amounts of information generated by its research
projects, building further capability and significantly contributing to the
reduction of the impact of viral diseases both in livestock and humans.
Genome research manages massive amounts of data, which requires vast computer
processing and storage capacity. By eliminating the bottlenecks that often occur
in data analysis and storing data more efficiently, it is possible to generate
information about increasing numbers of viral diseases.
Supercomputers are also critical when modelling the spread of disease with
realistic simulations that take many factors into account, including work on the
foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the UK in 2001. Such simulations are
essential to increase preparedness and inform policy makers in case of future
outbreaks.
Pirbright is strategically funded by the Bioscience and Biological Science
Research Council (BBSRC) and a unique national centre that enhances the UK's
capability to control, contain and eliminate viral diseases of animals through
its highly innovative fundamental and applied bioscience. With surveillance,
vaccine production and informed support to policy making, Pirbright boosts the
competitiveness of livestock and poultry producers in the UK and abroad, thereby
improving the quality of life of both animals and people.
The capability provided by Pirbright is essential in the context of the ever-
changing nature of viral disease threats emerging from the globalisation of
trade, environmental change and expanding human and animal populations.
Computational and bioinformatics facilities are the key link in the long chain
of cutting edge research facilities at Pirbright, notably a number of high- and
low-containment laboratories, a bioimaging suite and a unit for sequencing in
containment. To meet the Institute's requirements, Atos provided a Bull system
featuring several types of computer nodes in order to be able to deal with the
complexity of the tasks carried out in the different departments of the
Institute.
"Atos came up with a combination of different platforms that will allow the
institute to analyse and collate the broad range of datasets generated by our
research programmes. We were looking for an IT partner with a broad expertise in
life science projects", says Bryan Charleston, Interim Director of The Pirbright
Institute.
"Purchasing a supercomputer is not like going to a supermarket and picking
something off a shelf. It required a lot of design and discussion to define the
system we wanted. Atos has enabled us to fully support our computational needs.
We can assemble genomes, study the interaction between virus and host,
understand how viruses evolve and model how they spread between individuals and
farms", says Paolo Ribeca, Head of Integrative Biology and Bioinformatics at
Pirbright.
"Atos is determined to solve the technical challenges that arise in life
sciences projects, to help scientists to focus on making breakthroughs and
forget about technicalities. We know that one size doesn't fit all and that is
the reason why we studied carefully The Pirbright Institute's challenges to
design a customised and unique architecture. It is a pleasure for us to work
with Pirbright and to contribute in some way to reduce the impact of viral
diseases", says Natalia Jiménez, WW Life Sciences lead at Atos.
Andy Grant, Head of Big Data and HPC, Atos, said "We are really excited to see
our HPC and analytics technologies being deployed in such a critical area of
science, fundamental to the health and wellbeing of both our animal and human
populations. The Bull supercomputer and storage environment deployed has been
designed specifically to tackle kinds of data intensive computing challenges
that The Pirbright Institute undertakes, removing bottlenecks to dramatically
increase the throughput of analytical jobs."
Notes to Editors:
For further information contact:
Jackie McColl jmcoll(at)3x1.com 0141 221 0707 /07710 651 973
Karen Halley khalley(at)3x1.com 0131 225 7700 / 07841 128 150
About Atos
Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is a leader in digital services with pro forma
annual revenue of circa EUR 12 billion and 100,000 employees in 72 countries
including the UK & Ireland where around 10,000 employees deliver business
technology solutions for some of the largest public and private sector partners.
On a global scale, the Group provides Consulting & Systems Integration services,
Managed Services & BPO, Cloud operations, Big Data & Cyber-security solutions,
as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the
payments and transactional services industry. With its deep technology expertise
and industry knowledge, the Group works with clients across different business
sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Utilities,
Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications, and Transportation. Atos is focused
on business technology that powers progress and helps organizations to create
their firm of the future. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology
Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and is listed on the Euronext Paris
market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid,
Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. www.atos.net | Follow (at)Atos
Bull is the Atos brand for its technology products and software, which are today
distributed in over 50 countries worldwide. With a rich heritage of over 80
years of technological innovation, 2000 patents and a 700 strong R&D team
supported by the Atos Scientific Community, it offers products and value-added
software to assist clients in their digital transformation, specifically in the
areas of Big Data and Cybersecurity and Defense. www.bull.com|Follow (at)Bull_com
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The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: ATOS via GlobeNewswire
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Datum: 10.01.2017 - 17:02 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
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