Inspired by Google Maps, a suite of tools is allowing researchers to chart the complex conformations of chromosomes.

An article published in issue 7670 of Nature reviews a suite of tools allowing researchers to chart the complex conformations of chromosomes. The article features TADkit, a package developed at the CNAG-CRG by Marc Marti-Renom and Mike Goodstadt designed specifically to model chromatin structure. TADkit allows users to view 3D chromosome models alongside the corresponding 2D heat map and 1D tracks. Selecting a feature in one representation highlights overlapping features in the others.

Plot a course through the genome

 

And in Nature Jobs Jeffrey Perkel, tells us the personal story of Mike Goodstadt, software engineer in the Structural Genomics group.

TechBlog: Mike Goodstadt: A circuitous route to bioinformatics