Computers, commonly perceived as little more than ultra-fast calculators, are suggesting new ideas in medicine and chemistry, determining the roles of genes and proposing and testing new mathematical theorems. They are even helping with the choice of embryos for IVF implantation. Computers have been promoted from dumb tools to full research partners, and people working without digital colleagues may soon begin to fall behind. "The future lies in human-computer collaboration," Srinivasan says.