Bioinformatics: The Boundless Realm of Questions in Biology and Chemistry

Bioinformatics is a rapidly developing branch of biology and is highly interdisciplinary, using techniques and concepts from informatics, statistics, chemistry, biochemistry. All this work produces an “ocean” of information that can only be “sailed” with the help of computerized methods.

The genetic code contains information that is managed, analyzed and interpreted by using computational techniques to piece together insights from large datasets. Other sources of biological information include patient statistics, experimental results from a variety of sources, and scientific literature. It has many practical applications in different areas of biology and medicine.

The genome can be thought of as the machine code or raw instructions for creation and operation of biological organisms. The information encoded in DNA results in the creation of proteins which serve as the key building blocks for biological function.

By comparing genomes of diverse species, scientists have identified extreme conservation, showing surprising similarities in the genetic makeup of species as varied as sponges and humans.

Some sophisticated bioinformatic tools allow for correlation studies between genes and diseases. This allows us to understand a mechanism for disease and eventually develop targeted treatment as opposed to the currently aided trial-and-error methods.

Although the primary objective of genomic data generated for healthcare purposes is for disease diagnoses, treatment, and prevention, the availability of these data for use in secondary research can result in a better understanding of disease mechanisms and will lead to improvements in treatment strategies. The practice of studying genetic disorders is changing from investigation of single genes in isolation to discovering cellular networks of genes, understanding their complex interactions, and identifying their role in disease.

The main idea that intrigued me most was the visualization of a whole genome or a protein or a peptide on a computer screen. I was thinking “wow! that’s amazing! we can do a lot of stuff with that”

Creating and understanding bioinformatics is extremely straightforward, and all you need is a laptop with sufficient processing and storage capacity. You can begin at anytime, anywhere. You can excel in bioinformatics and develop your own methodology to solve problems if you have a solid foundation in computation and algorithms.

The key challenges to bioinformatics essentially all relate to the current flood of raw data, aggregate information, and evolving knowledge arising from the study of the genome and its manifestation.

Prospects in the field of bioinformatics include its future contribution to functional understanding of the human genome, leading to enhanced discovery of drug targets and individualized therapy. Open data that allows data reuse and data integration has made possible great advances in molecular biology over the last few decades. Moreover, the crossover of bioinformatics into healthcare will further enable fundamental discoveries about the big questions of biology.

The goal is to provide scientists with the right means to explain normal biological processes, dysfunctions of these processes which give rise to disease and approaches that allow the discovery of new medical cures.

Happy Learning.

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