VPB 321: Animal Biotechnology (2+1)

IMPORTANCE OF COMPUTERS IN BIOINFORMATICS

• First, many bioinformatics problems require the same task to be repeated millions of times. For example, comparing a new sequence to every other sequence stored in a database or comparing a group of sequences systematically to determine evolutionary relationships. In such cases, the ability of computers to process information and test alternative solutions rapidly is indispensable.
• Computers are required for their problem-solving power. Typical problems that might be addressed using bioinformatics could include solving the folding pathways of protein given its amino acid sequence, or deducing a biochemical pathway given a collection of RNA expression profiles. Computers can help with such problems, but it is important to note that expert input and robust original data are also required.