Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is an emerging field of science that deals with the application of computers to the collection, organization, analysis, manipulation, presentation, and sharing of biological data.

  • Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field directly involving molecular biology, genetics, computer science, mathematics, and statistics.
  • The central component of bioinformatics is the study of the best ways to design and operate biologic databases.
  • As a large amount of nucleotide and protein sequence data are obtained via various research techniques, along with other types of information stored in primary and secondary biological databases, scientists started to use computers to obtain and analyze biological data in their daily research with bioinformatics tools.
  • To help the biologists access the databases effectively and use the analysis tools efficiently, bioinformatics has eventually become a vital part of biological education.
  • Bioinformatics is an evolving discipline, and complex software programs are now being used for retrieving, sorting out, analyzing, predicting, and storing DNA and protein sequence data.
  • One of the fundamental activities in bioinformatics is the sequence analysis of DNA and proteins using various programs and databases available on the world wide web.
  • Large commercial enterprises such as pharmaceutical companies employ bioinformaticians to perform and maintain the large scale and complex bioinformatics needs of these industries.
  • Apart from the analysis of genome sequence data, bioinformatics is now being used for a vast array of other vital tasks, including analysis of gene variation and expression, analysis, and prediction of gene and protein structure and function.
  • Besides, bioinformatics has found its importance in tasks like prediction and detection of gene regulation networks and presentation and analysis of molecular pathways in order to understand gene-disease interactions.
  • Bioinformatics even has clinical applications as the whole genome sequencing of an organism allows for the production of a complete list of human gene products that may provide new drugs and gene therapy for single-gene diseases may become routine.
  • Bioinformatics can be used for different other fields of the biology of different groups of living beings.