Analysis of nonlinear dynamics on arbitrary geometries with the Virtual Cell

The Virtual Cell is a modeling tool that allows biologists and theorists alike to specify and simulate cell-biophysical models on arbitrarily complex geometries. The framework combines an intuitive, front-end graphical user interface that runs in a web browser, sophisticated server-side numerical algorithms, a database for storage of models and simulation results, and flexible visualization capabilities. In this paper, we present an overview of the capabilities of the Virtual Cell, and, for the first time, the detailed mathematical formulation used as the basis for spatial computations. We also present summaries of two rather typical modeling projects, in order to illustrate the principal capabilities of the Virtual Cell. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.