Fundamental Concepts of Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is a burgeoning interdisciplinary field that holds great promise in handling large scale biomedical data by computational approaches. The book "Fundamental Concepts of Bioinformatics" is a very important textbook and reference book for both biology and computer science students and researchers, as well as for those professionals in medical science, and the pharmaceutical industry. It goes with saying that many laboratory approaches are expensive and time consuming, and cannot hope to keep up with the rapid growth of available data, making computational approaches indispensable. While a number of books dealing with bioinformatics, most of them are generally limited in scope, and very few of them provide a comprehensive but easy understandable treatment from both computer science and biomedical principles. This book is unique and is well-organized, and provides a systematic but straightforward treatment of the various techniques used for bioinformatics. One of the attractive features of the book is the comprehensive coverage of the various types of data use in bioinformatics analysis, followed by computational approaches that are most suited to the particular data type. This book also helps researchers entering bioinformatics. The reader can quickly identify the chapters that are most relevant to their own interest. It could also be used as a textbook for a senior undergraduate or a graduate level bioinformatics course. It is a valuable resource to both students and researchers, no matter whether they perform experimental research or computer science studies. Computer scientists, mathematicians, and statisticians seeking to discover how bioinformatics is related to well-defined paradigms in computer science could also benefit greatly from this book. Professors Michael L. Raymer and Dan E. Krane have authored many research articles in both computer science and biological science. I highly recommend this book as a great textbook and reference book for both students and researchers.

Features First bioinformatics primer for undergraduates. Personable writing style and numerous analogies make this text accessible to undergraduates. Focus on fundamentally important algorithms at the core of bioinformatics. Easy-to-do "paper and pencil" calculations make fundamental algorithms unintimidating for biology students and accessible to students with limited experience in computer programming. Combined expertise (biology and computer science) of author team ensures an integrated approach and an appreciation for the biology and computer science tools and perspectives. End-of-Chapter summaries tie together key concepts and provide real-world examples of the algorithms presented. Detailed solutions to selected text questions are provided in the back of the text so students can check their answers. Annotated Reading Material sections at the end of each chapter direct students to additional resources for further explanation. Questions and problems at the end of each chapter help students apply their understanding of the material. Contents MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. DATA SEARCHES AND PAIRWISE ALIGNMENTS. SUBSTITUTION PATTERNS. DISTANCE-BASED METHODS OF PHYLOGENETICS. CHARACTER-BASED APPROACHES TO PHYLOGENETICS. GENOMICS AND GENE RECOGNITION. PROTEIN FOLDING. PROTEOMICS.