Bioinformatics is the study of information content and flow in biological systems and processes. It utilizes advanced protocols of information and communication technology to solve complex problems in life sciences. The potential of bioinformatics lies in the identification of useful genes leading to the development of new gene products, drug discovery and drug development.
Bioinformatics
is the application of computer technology for the
management of biological information. Computers are
used to gather, store, analyze and integrate biological
and genetic information which can then be applied
to gene-based drug discovery and development process.
It helps us to collect, compile, analyze, process
and represent the information in order to understand
the processes of life in healthy and diseased states.
Bioinformatics also facilitates in finding new processes
and delivery systems for improved genes and drugs
for life improvement. The need for bioinformatics
has been precipitated by the explosion of publicly
available genomic information resulting from the Human
Genome Project.
Molecular
biology would be impossible without information storage
and retrieval, statistical analysis, data fitting
and computer simulation. Medical research and treatment,
neurobiology and the use of sophisticated laboratory
equipment would be impossible without computers. Computers
play a central role in the design, execution and analysis
of experiments. They are used in modern lab instrumentation
including power supplies for gel electrophoresis,
computer controlled chromatography, electrophysiology
for the study of action potentials (ion channel, receptors
for neurotransmitters, hormones), spectroscopic techniques
(fluorescence, NMR, crystallography, electron microscopy),
online recording (replacing tape recordings), online
oscilloscopes (simulating analog machines), and digital
oscilloscopes with computer access. New staining techniques
combined with photography and computer-aided spectroscopy
are used today to construct anatomical maps of the
human brain. |