Bioinformatics BIO431SB
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Definition
The recent flood of data from genome sequences and functional genomics has given rise to new field, bioinformatics, which combines elements of biology and computer science.
Bioinformatics is conceptualizing biology in terms of macromolecules (in the sense of physical-chemistry) and then applying "informatics" techniques (derived from disciplines such as applied maths, computer science, and statistics) to understand and organize the information associated with these molecules, on a large-scale.
Bioinformatics is the acquisition, application of computational tools, storage, arrangement, identification, archiving, analysis, interpretation,visualization and communication approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral or health data in molecular biology research development.
Principle of bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is a new interdiscientificipline, at the interface of computer science, mathematics and biology. It is naturally characterized more by the problem domains it addresses than by a foundational set of philosophical or scientific principles. From the diversity of approaches applied to bioinformatics problems, it is clear that at this early stage in its development, bioinformatics' one defining principle is its pragmatic openness to investigate the application of statistical method of approach to a biological problem. Bioinformatics stands on the foundations of computational science and engineering, and applied mathematics, and depends on large stores of both experimental and derived data.
