|
Bioinformatics
Computer scientists in bioinformatics and computational biology develop and use algorithms and tools to extract useful knowledge from the data produced by biological techniques. They also use models and numerical simulations of biological systems to better understand those. Naturally, bioinformatics and computational biology at Illinois is very interdisciplinary, involving collaborations with biological scientists and others outside the department, as well as members of the department in data mining and information systems, artificial intelligence, scientific computing, formal systems, parallel programming, and theoretical computing. Bioinformatics applies computer and information science to solve biological problems. It uses databases and data mining, pattern recognition, statistics, and information theory to make sense of huge amounts of biological data. This data is a result of high-throughput biological experiments, from such things as sequencing of genomes, DNA microarray chips, and proteomics. Storing, organizing, managing, and accessing large-scale information is only the beginning. Deriving knowledge from this information lies at the heart of bioinformatics research. One way to do this is to find, identify, and analyze sequences found within the information. The focus is on algorithm development and computational methods, using the tools of mathematics and statistics. The field also includes knowledge discovery and mining of clinical data, which involves natural language processing and machine learning. Computational biology focuses on computer systems that manage, analyze, and simulate complex structures and processes in biological systems. It lies in the intersection of applied mathematics and computing with biochemistry and biophysics. On the math side, computational biologists try and prove theorems, and on the computation side, they use computers to solve biological problems.
|
|