Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
that did not depend on norms of biological work. These circumstances
allowed the introduction not only of a new tool (the computer), but also
of specifi c ways of thinking centered on statistics, pattern recognition,
and data management. Goad's background meant that the computer
came to biology not as a machine for solving biological problems, but
rather as a technology that imported ready-made ways of thinking, do-
ing, and organizing from physics.
From Sequence to Software: James Ostell
It is important not to exaggerate the extent of computer use in molecu-
lar biology in the early 1980s. One MOLGEN report from September
1980 provides a list of just fi fty-one users who had logged into the
system.
57
Although interest and use were growing rapidly, computers
still remained esoteric tools for most molecular biologists. This cer-
tainly appeared to be true for Jim Ostell when he began his doctoral
studies in the laboratory of Fotis Kafatos in Harvard's Department of
Cellular and Developmental Biology in 1979.
58
Although Ostell had a
background in zoology (he wrote a master's thesis on the anatomy of
the male cricket at the University of Massachusetts), he was attracted to
the exciting fi eld of molecular biology, which seemed to be advancing
rapidly due to the new techniques of DNA sequencing and cDNA clon-
ing. Swept up in the excitement, Ostell did some cloning and sequencing
of eggshell proteins. Once he had the sequence, however, he had no idea
what to do next, or how to make any sense of it. Somebody suggested
that he use a computer. Before coming to graduate school, Ostell had
taken one computer class, using the FORTRAN programming language
on a Cyber 70 mainframe with punched cards.
59
The Kafatos lab had a
300-baud modem that connected an ASCII terminal to the MOLGEN
project running at Stanford. It also had an 8-bit CP/M microcomputer
with an Intel CPU, 48 kilobytes of memory, and an 8-inch fl oppy disk
drive.
60
The secretary had priority for the use of the computer for word
processing, but the students were free to use it after hours. Ostell relates
how he came to use the machine:
This computer was always breaking down, so the repair people
were often there. I had been a ham radio operator and interested
in electronics, so Fotis [Kafatos] found me one day looking in-
terestedly in the top as it was under repair and asked if I knew
anything about computers. When I replied “A little,” he smiled
and said “Great! You are in charge of the computer.”
61
