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MCell: A Monte Carlo Simulator of Cellular Microphysiology
Simulation Example
Image, rendered with DReAMM, from a simulation of synaptic transmission in a chick ciliary ganglion somatic spine mat as presented in Science Magazine July 15, 2005. For more information click here.

MCell is a modeling tool for realistic simulation of cellular signaling in the complex 3-D subcellular microenvironment in and around living cells -- what we call cellular microphysiology. At such small subcellular scales the familiar macroscopic concept of concentration is not useful and stochastic behavior dominates. MCell uses highly optimized Monte Carlo algorithms to track the stochastic behavior of discrete molecules in space and time as they diffuse and interact with other discrete effector molecules (e.g. ion channels, enzymes, transporters) heterogeneously distributed within the 3-D geometry of the subcellular environment.

MCell is developed and supported by the MCell gang

With additional support from:

CTBP Center for Theoretical Biological Physics
NSF The National Science Foundation
Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center Carnegie Mellon University
NIH National Institutes of Health
NPACI The National Partnership for Advanced Computing Infrastructure


Supported by the National Science Foundation (IBN-9985964 and ITR-0086092) and the National Institutes of Health (RR-06009).

Copyright © 1997-2005