Research: Algorithm Finds the Network - For Genes or the Internet

Algorithm Finds the Network - For Genes or the Internet
Washington University in St. Louis (03/12/08) Fitzpatrick, Tony

Washington University professor Weixiong Zhang and PhD student Jianhua Ruan have developed an algorithm that automatically identifies communities and their structures in various networks. Zhang says many complex systems can be represented as networks, including the genetic networks he studies, social networks, and the Internet itself. The community structure found in networks includes a natural division among the vertices in each subnetwork that are highly involved with each other, but connect less strongly than the rest of the network. A community in a genetic network usually contain genes with similar functions, while a community on the Web often corresponds to Web pages with similar topics. The researchers say their algorithm is more scalable than existing algorithms and can detect communities at a finer scale with greater accuracy. In genomics, the algorithm could be used by researchers to better identify and understand communities of genes and their networks, and how they interact to create diseases. In computing, the algorithm can determine how people interact in social networks and how scientists collaborate in scientific research.
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