Q:  In vitro studies refers to experimentation in a controlled environment outside of a living organism. In vivo studies refers to experimentation inside or using a living organism. What does it means by in silico studies?


Answer: In silico refers to experimentations performed on computer or via computer simulation. Term is invented by a mathematician, Pedro Miramontes to characterize biological experiments carried out entirely in a computer. This aspect is can be used for identifying bacteria via in silico methods to sequence bacterial DNA and RNA. It is also used in polymerase chain reaction (PCR), generating millions or more copies of a particular DNA sequence.



References: 


1. Dantas, Gautam; Kuhlman, Brian; Callender, David; Wong, Michelle; Baker, David (2003), "A Large Scale Test of Computational Protein Design: Folding and Stability of Nine Completely Redesigned Globular Proteins", Journal of Molecular Biology, 332 (2): 449

2.  Dobson, N; Dantas, G; Baker, D; Varani, G (2006), "High-Resolution Structural Validation of the Computational Redesign of Human U1A Protein", Structure, 14 (5): 847

3. Dantas, G; Corrent, C; Reichow, S; Havranek, J; Eletr, Z; Isern, N; Kuhlman, B; Varani, G; et al. (2007), "High-resolution Structural and Thermodynamic Analysis of Extreme Stabilization of Human Procarboxypeptidase by Computational Protein Design", Journal of Molecular Biology, 366 (4): 1209–21