Using CAVE technology for functional genomics studies.

We have established the first Java 3D-enabled CAVE (CAVE automated virtual environment). The Java application programming interface allows the complete separation of the program development from the program execution, opening new application domains for the CAVE technology. Programs can be developed on any Java-enabled computer platform, including Windows, Macintosh, and Linux workstations, and executed in the CAVE without modification. The introduction of Java, one of the major programming environments for bioinformatics, into the CAVE environment allows the rapid development applications for genome research, especially for the analysis of the spatial and temporal data that are being produced by functional genomics experiments. The CAVE technology will play a major role in the modeling of biological systems that is necessary to understand how these systems are organized and how they function.