"Today we'll be delving into bioinformatics," said my biology professor as my class walked into lab. Though it sounds kind of intimidating, bioinformatics is just the application of computer technology to the management of biological information.
Bioinformatics is often used in collecting, organizing, and analyzing large amounts of complex biological information. In bioinformatics, computers are used to gather, store, and integrate biological and genetic information which can then be applied to gene-based drug discovery and development. Bioinformatics uses a large range of techniques from computer science including sequence and structural alignment, database design and data mining, and macromolecular geometry.
The techniques of bioinformatics are useful in many different fields including basic research, biomedicine, agriculture, and microbiology. Within these fields, bioinformatics has helped the world by making it easier to see the genetic components of many diseases, discovering drugs, personalizing medicine, making stronger crops thereby increasing the quality of livestock, developing waste cleanup regimes, and counteracting climate change. Though the fields of biology and computer science have both made amazing contributions to the world, the field of bioinformatics has the potential to make a huge impact on how we live our lives.
References:
"Bioinformatics." Partner in Science & Technology. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Bioinformatics: The Science of the Future." Morsani College of Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
"Stanford Center for Professional Development." BIOMEDIN217 Translational Bioinformatics. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
"Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
"What Is Bioinformatics | BioPlanet." BioPlanet RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
