Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics:
Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for
understanding biological data, in particular when the data sets are large and complex.
As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combines computer
science, statistics, mathematics, and engineering to analyze and interpret biological data.
In other words, Bioinformatics is a science of solving biological problem using a
mathematical and computational approach.
Various biological analyses result in exponential amounts of biological data and it
becomes very hard to analyze them using manual means. This is where Computer
Science comes to the rescue. Various computational techniques are used to analyze
hunks of biological data more accurately and efficiently by means of automated
processes. Hence, bioinformatics can be considered as a field of data science for solving
problems in biology and medicine.
In bioinformatics, the data obtained through gene and DNA studies are stored in the
database. Subsequently, analyzing these data using computer science, statistics,
mathematics and engineering knowledge, various biological problems are solved
and new tools are created.
The biological data used in Bioinformatics are-
•DNA
•Gene
•Amino Acid
•Nucleic Acid etc.
Donald Knuth, a computer scientist at Stanford University, first came up with the idea
of ​bioinformatics.
Purpose of bioinformatics:
1. To properly understand biological processes using pattern
recognition, data mining, visualization etc. That is, generating
knowledge by searching for gene information.
2. Gain knowledge of the effects of genes as a cause of disease.
3. To improve the quality of medicine and to invent new drugs.
Bioinformatics Tools perform three steps:
A bioinformatics tool has the following three main functions in
analyzing any biological data in bioinformatics –
1. Determines protein sequence from DNA sequence
2. Determines protein structure from protein sequence
3. Determines protein function from protein structure
Uses of Bioinformatics:
•Microbial Genome
•Molecular Medicine
•Personalized Medicine
•Preventive Medicine
•Gene Therapy
•Comparative studies
•Climate Change studies
•Biotechnology
•Drug Development
•Veterinary Science
•Agriculture
•Bio-weapon development
Bioinformatics is used in the following research
areas:
•Sequence alignment
•DNA Analysis
•Gene Finding
•Drug Design
•Drug Invention
•Protein Structure
Some Open-Source Softwares used in Bioinformatics:
•Bioconductor
•BioPerl
•BioJS
•Biopython
•BioJava
•BioRuby
•Biclipse
•EMBOSS
•Taverna Workbench
•UGENE
•T Bio
•Orange
Genetic Engineering:
Cells are the smallest unit of organism, animal or plant. The center of life of a cell is called
the nucleus. Inside the nucleus, there are certain objects called chromosomes. The
chromosomes again have a chain-like structure called DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid). This
DNA is divided into many parts. One specific part is called a gene. These genes carry
different properties of animals or plants. That is, how the animal or plant develops, the
shape of the shape is stored in the DNA sequence of the cell.
Genetic engineering, also called Genetic modification or Genetic manipulation, is the
direct manipulation of an organism’s genes using biotechnology. It is a set
of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of
genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms.
In other words, Genetic engineering is a process that alters the genetic structure of an
organism by either removing or introducing DNA. Genetic engineering takes
the gene directly from one organism and delivers it to the other. This is much faster, can
be used to insert any genes from any organism and prevents other undesirable genes
from also being added.
An organism that is generated through genetic engineering is considered to be genetically
modified (GM) and the resulting entity is a genetically modified organism (GMO).
Process of Genetic Engineering:
Creating a GMO is a multi-step process. They are-
•Genetic engineers must first choose what gene they wish to insert into the organism.
•New DNA is obtained by either isolating and copying the genetic material of interest
using recombinant DNA methods or by artificially synthesizing the DNA.
•A construct is usually created and used to insert this DNA into the host organism. As well as
inserting genes, the process can be used to remove, or “knock out”, genes.
•The new DNA can be inserted randomly, or targeted to a specific part of the genome.
The first recombinant DNA molecule was made by Paul Berg in 1972 by combining DNA from the
monkey virus SV40 with the lambda virus.
How does genetic engineering work?
To help explain the process of genetic engineering we have taken the example of insulin,
a protein that helps regulate the sugar levels in our blood.
•Normally insulin is produced in the pancreas, but in people with type 1 diabetes there is a problem
with insulin production.
•People with diabetes therefore have to inject insulin to control their blood sugar levels.
•Genetic engineering has been used to produce a type of insulin, very similar to our own, from yeast
and bacteria like E. Coli.
•This genetically modified insulin, ‘Humulin’ was licensed for human use in 1982.
Uses of Genetic Engineering:
•To produce insulin
•To produce human growth hormone
•To produce vaccines
•To produce genetically modified food
•To produce genetically modified livestock
•To develop Important tools for natural scientists