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BIOINFORMATICS
Bioinformatics is the mixed application of two sciences: computer science and biology. It is the highly
technical field of software development for the purpose of analyzing and managing biological data. It
involves the use of many techniques from areas such as database management, artificial intelligence,
computational statistics, and biochemistry. The term computational biology is often used
interchangeably with bioinformatics. Computational biology, however, deals more with the solution to
specific experimental research completed with a definite goal in mind. Bioinformatics is more practically
applied to data analysis and data management.
Genome Mapping
Genes are the “program” that every living thing uses to recreate itself. Genes control everything about
our bodies, such as the length of our bones or the color of our hair. The real difference between a human
and a tree is the structure of the genes of the two living organisms. Since the mapping of the first
complete genomes of viruses such as Phage in the 1970s, a major application of bioinformatics
techniques has been linked to genetic research. The complete mapping of the human genome, a holy
grail of the science, was achieved in the year 2000. This was a significant achievement, as the human
genetic material, our DNA, is fantastically complex. Understanding our DNA is similar to understanding a
number that is billions of digits long.
The difficult part was in figuring out which parts of the DNA strand were genes that had a specified
outcome in the final human created by the genetic program. Much of the DNA strand is made up of junk
material that serves no actual purpose, which makes figuring it out all the more difficult. Computers
were used heavily in this process, first by simply entering information about the DNA strands under
study, and then by listing the effects that various possible changes to the genetic code caused in a
database. Putting all this information into a computer made it far easier to search and sort through. The
task would have been all but impossible without a computerized database listing all the genetic
variations.