Introduction to Bioinformatics

Written by a pioneer of the use of bioinformatics in research, the second edition of Introduction to Bioinformatics introduces the student to the power of bioinformatics as a set of scientific tools. Retaining and enhancing the rich pedagogy and lucid presentation of the first edition, this new edition explains how to access the data archives of genomes and proteins, and the kind of questions these data and tools can answer. It also discusses how to make inferences from the data archives, how to make connections among them, and how to derive useful and interesting predictions. The book is accompanied by a fully integrated companion website. On 26 June 2000, the completion of the draft sequence of the Human Genome saw the sciences of biology and medicine change forever. It promised new insights into how our genes shape who we are, and how we function. At the heart of this breakthrough lies a scientific discipline that is now one of the most important knowledge-building tools in current molecular and cellular biology, and healthcare development: bioinformatics.Written by a pioneer of the use of bioinformatics in research, Introduction to Bioinformatics, second edition, introduces the student to the power of bioinformatics as a set of scientific tools. The book explains how to access the data archives of genomes and proteins, and the kind of biological and medical questions these data and tools can answer.Retaining and enhancing the pedagogy of the first edition, including the lucid presentation, and the variety of exercises and problems, the book explores the computational tools of bioinformatics without demanding detailed prior knowledge. A variety of interactive resources is also included to encourage hands-on learning by the student. Fully revised and updated, the fourth edition of Introduction to Bioinformatics shows how bioinformatics can be used as a powerful set of tools for retrieving and analyzing this biological data, and how bioinformatics can be applied to a wide range of disciplines such as molecular biology, medicine, biotechnology, forensic science, and anthropology. This new edition contains two new chapters, with significantly increased coverage of metabolic pathways, and gene expression and regulation. Written for students without a detailed prior knowledge of programming, this book is the perfect introduction to the field of bioinformatics, providing friendly guidance and advice on how to use various methods and techniques. Additionally, frequent examples, self-test questions, problems, and exercises are incorporated throughout the text to encourage self-directed learning. "Written by a pioneer of the use of bioinformatics in research, Introduction to Bioinformatics, second edition, introduces the student to the power of bioinformatics as a set of scientific tools. The book explains how to access the data archives of genomes and proteins, and the kind of biological and medical questions these data and tools can answer." "Retaining and enhancing the pedagogy of the first edition, including the lucid presentation, and the variety of exercises and problems, the book explores the computational tools of bioinformatics without demanding detailed prior knowledge. A variety of interactive resources is also included to encourage hands-on learning by the student."--Jacket