Bioinformatics and Computational Biology: The Interface Between Computing and the Biosciences

摘要

What is bioinformatics? What is the "buzz" all about, and why has the field of bioinformatics become so visible, popular, useful and even apparently essential? What might bioinformatics provide for the readers of this journal, what are some of the challenges for the science, and does it have a future? These are among the obvious questions when anyone is asked to describe bioinformatics. and place the technical term, scientific field and methodological approaches in the context of interest for the audience. Every reader of Asia Pacific Biotech News will be familiar with the "hot job" market in the field for almost a decade; that the job market has continued to grow; and that the private sector sustained bioinformatics before the educational sector came on board. But now, programs and departments of bioinformatics are being created in every kind of university and technology institute around the world. Yet, simple definitions and perspectives on bioinformatics remain elusive, like the proverbial collection of seven blind men examining an elephant. This "elephant" is very complex; indeed, it might seem it is more like analogous examinations around an entire zoo. With that caveat in mind, let us consider the answers to the questions.