Название: Bioinformatics: An Introduction 4th Edition
Автор: Jeremy Ramsden
Издательство: Springer
Год: 2023
Страниц: 401
Язык: английский
Формат: pdf (true), epub
Размер: 21.4 MB

This invaluable textbook presents a self-contained introduction to the field of bioinformatics. Providing a comprehensive breadth of coverage while remaining accessibly concise, the text promotes a deep understanding of the field, supported by basic mathematical concepts, an emphasis on biological knowledge, and a holistic approach that highlights the connections unifying bioinformatics with other areas of science.

The thoroughly revised and enhanced fourth edition features new chapters focusing on regulation and control networks, the origins of life, evolution, statistics and causation, viruses, the microbiome, single cell analysis, drug discovery and forensic applications. This edition additionally includes new and updated material on the ontology of bioinformatics, data mining, ecosystems, and phenomics. Also covered are new developments in sequencing technologies, gene editing methods, and modelling of the brain, as well as state-of-the-art medical applications. Of special topicality is a new chapter on bioinformatics aspects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The term “bioinformatics” seems to have been first used in the mid-1980s in order to describe the application of information science and technology in the life sciences. The definition was at that time very general, covering everything from robotics to artificial intelligence. Later, bioinformatics came to be somewhat prosaically defined as “the use of computers to retrieve, process, analyse, and simulate biological information”. An even narrower definition was “the application of information technology to the management of biological data”. Such definitions fail to capture the centrality of information in biology. If, indeed, information is the most fundamental concept underlying biology and bioinformatics is the exploration of all the ramifications and implications of that basis, then bioinformatics is excellently positioned to revive consideration of the central question “what is life?” A more appropriate definition of bioinformatics is, therefore, “the science of how information is generated, transmitted, received, stored, processed, and interpreted in biological systems” or, more succinctly, “the application of information science to biology”.

Target audiences. This book is primarily intended as a textbook for undergraduates, for whom it aims to be a complete study companion. As such, it will also be useful to the beginning graduate student. A secondary audience are physical scientists seeking a comprehensive but succinct guide to biology, and biological scientists wishing to better acquaint themselves with some of the physicochemical and mathematical aspects that underpin the applications.