Molecular modelling and drug design

Drug design is a creative act of the same magnitude as composing, sculpting , or writing. The results can touch the lives of millions, but the creator is rarely one scientist and the rewards are distributed differently in the arts than in the sciences. The mechanisms of creativity are the same, i.e., incremental (plodding from darkness to dawn) or sudden (the "Eureka" effec t) realization, but both are poorly understood. Creativity remains a human characteristic, but it is directly related to the tools available, especial ly computer software and hardware. While modelling software continues to ma ture, very little new has evolved in terms of hardware. Here, we discuss th e history of molecular modelling and describe two novel modelling tools, a haptic device and a program, SCULPT, to generate solid molecular models at atomic resolution. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.