Introduction To Computational Biology

Written with the advanced undergraduate in mind, this book introduces into the field of Bioinformatics. The authors explain the computational and conceptional background to the analysis of large-scale sequence data. Many of the corresponding analysis methods are rooted in evolutionary thinking, which serves as a common thread throughout the book. The focus is on methods of comparative genomics and subjects covered include: alignments, gene finding, phylogeny, and the analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The volume contains exercises, questions & answers to selected problems.

Biology is in the midst of a era yielding many significant discoveries and promising many more. Unique to this era is the exponential growth in the size of information-packed databases. Inspired by a pressing need to analyze that data, Introduction to Computational Biology explores a new area of expertise that emerged from this fertile field- the combination of biological and information sciences. This introduction describes the mathematical structure of biological data, especially from sequences and chromosomes. After a brief survey of molecular biology, it studies restriction maps of DNA, rough landmark maps of the underlying sequences, and clones and clone maps. It examines problems associated with reading DNA sequences and comparing sequences to finding common patterns. The author then considers that statistics of pattern counts in sequences, RNA secondary structure, and the inference of evolutionary history of related sequences. Introduction to Computational Biology exposes the reader to the fascinating structure of biological data and explains how to treat related combinatorial and statistical problems. Written to describe mathematical formulation and development, this book helps set the stage for even more, truly interdisciplinary work in biology.

Biology is in the midst of a era yielding many significant discoveries and promising many more. Unique to this era is the exponential growth in the size of information-packed databases. Inspired by a pressing need to analyze that data, Introduction to Computational Biology explores a new area of expertise that emerged from this fertile field- the combination of biological and information sciences. This introduction describes the mathematical structure of biological data, especially from sequences and chromosomes. After a brief survey of molecular biology, it studies restriction maps of DNA, rough landmark maps of the underlying sequences, and clones and clone maps. It examines problems associated with reading DNA sequences and comparing sequences to finding common patterns. The author then considers that statistics of pattern counts in sequences, RNA secondary structure, and the inference of evolutionary history of related sequences. Introduction to Computational Biology exposes the reader to the fascinating structure of biological data and explains how to treat related combinatorial and statistical problems. Written to describe mathematical formulation and development, this book helps set the stage for even more, truly interdisciplinary work in biology.

Emphasises a hands-on approach to modelling Strong emphasis on coding and software tools for systems biology Covers the entire spectrum of modelling, from static networks, to dynamic models Thoughtful exercises to test and enable student understanding of concepts Current chapters on exciting new developments like whole-cell modelling and community modelling

Thorough and accessible, this book presents the design principles of biological systems, and highlights the recurring circuit elements that make up biological networks. It provides a simple mathematical framework which can be used to understand and even design biological circuits. The textavoids specialist terms, focusing instead on several well-studied biological systems that concisely demonstrate key principles. An Introduction to Systems Biology: Design Principles of Biological Circuits builds a solid foundation for the intuitive understanding of general principles. It encourages the reader to ask why a system is designed in a particular way and then proceeds to answer with simplified models.

Basic concepts of molecular biology. Strings, graphs, and algorithms. Sequence comparasion and database search. Fragment assembly of DNA. Physical mapping of DNA. Phylogenetic trees. Genome rearrangements. Molecular structure prediction. epilogue: computing with DNA. Answers to selected exercises. References. index.

A Primer for Computational Biology aims to provide life scientists and students the skills necessary for research in a data-rich world. The text covers accessing and using remote servers via the command-line, writing programs and pipelines for data analysis, and provides useful vocabulary for interdisciplinary work. The book is broken into three parts: Introduction to Unix/Linux: The command-line is the "natural environment" of scientific computing, and this part covers a wide range of topics, including logging in, working with files and directories, installing programs and writing scripts, and the powerful "pipe" operator for file and data manipulation. Programming in Python: Python is both a premier language for learning and a common choice in scientific software development. This part covers the basic concepts in programming (data types, if-statements and loops, functions) via examples of DNA-sequence analysis. This part also covers more complex subjects in software development such as objects and classes, modules, and APIs. Programming in R: The R language specializes in statistical data analysis, and is also quite useful for visualizing large datasets. This third part covers the basics of R as a programming language (data types, if-statements, functions, loops and when to use them) as well as techniques for large-scale, multi-test analyses. Other topics include S3 classes and data visualization with ggplot2.

This greatly expanded 2nd edition provides a practical introduction to - data processing with Linux tools and the programming languages AWK and Perl - data management with the relational database system MySQL, and - data analysis and visualization with the statistical computing environment R for students and practitioners in the life sciences. Although written for beginners, experienced researchers in areas involving bioinformatics and computational biology may benefit from numerous tips and tricks that help to process, filter and format large datasets. Learning by doing is the basic concept of this book. Worked examples illustrate how to employ data processing and analysis techniques, e.g. for - finding proteins potentially causing pathogenicity in bacteria, - supporting the significance of BLAST with homology modeling, or - detecting candidate proteins that may be redox-regulated, on the basis of their structure. All the software tools and datasets used are freely available. One section is devoted to explaining setup and maintenance of Linux as an operating system independent virtual machine. The author's experiences and knowledge gained from working and teaching in both academia and industry constitute the foundation for this practical approach.