The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute's software for modeling the immune responses to pathogenic bacteria in the gut has a new capability. Researchers at the institute at Virginia Tech have upgraded the Enteric Immunity Simulator (ENISI) software to simulate how a mouse's immune system reacts to Helicobacter pylori infection in the gut. "ENISI is unique because it's specific to the gut, simulating each individual cell rather than creating broad mathematical models," Kate Wendelsdorf, a Ph.D. student in the genetics, bioinformatics and computational biology program at Virginia Tech, said in a statement. "Thus, it's more faithful to a living system and allows us to simulate a million individual cells, more than any other simulator. It's a powerful tool for understanding interactions between gut pathogens and the mucosal immune system." Release