Aspects of Bioinformatics and Molecular Computing

by Harlan Kennedy

Molecular computing and bioinformatics are two important interrelated disciplines that are concerned with the study of molecules and computers. Molecular computing is an emerging branch of computing that makes use of DNA, biochemistry, and molecular biology hardware in place of the traditional electronic computing to build computer programs. Experiments are also ongoing to replace the silicon chips used in computers with test tubes, liquids and even living cells. Molecular computing is becoming popular due to its ability to assemble more circuitry onto a microchip than can be contained in silicon chips at lower costs. Bioinformatics is a field of study that makes use of the tools of computation and analysis for developing methods and tools for understanding large and complex biological data. There are various bioinformatics tools such as visualization, pattern recognition, machine learning algorithms, and data mining. These tools help to compare, analyze and interpret genetic and genomic data. This book provides comprehensive insights into molecular computing and bioinformatics. As these fields are emerging at a rapid pace, its contents will help the readers understand their modern concepts and applications.