DNA Analysis in Bioinformatics
DNA Analysis in Bioinformatics
This Article was written by
Most Respected Madam , Vijini Mallawaarachchi– 26 from Sri Lanka. She is currently living in Canberra, Australia. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. studies at the Research School of Computer Science, at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. she graduated from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Her prior experiences include working as an Intern Software Engineer at Sysco LABS (Pvt.) Ltd and a Junior Consultant at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
Introduction
The word Bioinformatics is making quite a turnaround in today’s world of Science. The word seems to be made up of two parts which are related to two different fields, biology and computer science. About one or two decades ago, people saw biology and computer science as two entirely different fields. One would learn about living beings and their functions whereas the other would learn about computers and underlying theories.
What is Bioinformatics?
bio + informatics = bioinformatics
According to Wikipedia,
Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combines computer science, statistics, mathematics, and engineering to analyze and interpret biological data.
What is DNA?
DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule that carries the genetic code of all living organisms. DNA together with its friend RNA or ribonucleic acid are known as nucleic acids. DNA is the structure where all the biological information of a living being is stored.
What are Nucleotides?
DNA is a long, chainlike molecule which has two strands twisted into a double helix. The two strands are made up of simpler molecules called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is composed of one of the four nitrogen-containing nucleobases,
cytosine (C)
guanine (G)
adenine (A)
thymine (T)
along with a sugar called deoxyribose, a nd a phosphate group.
What is RNA?
RNA or ribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid, similar to DNA. However, not like DNA which is very stable, RNA is a much more active member of the nucleic acid family. In the context of bioinformatics, there are only 2 important differences between RNA and DNA:
Final Thoughts
DNA sequences and related data are stored in huge databases and are used in different fields such as Forensics, Genealogy and Medicine. These simple techniques will become the building blocks towards developing solutions for more complex problems.
Once Again Thank you Madam such a great Article..!!
Thanks for watching…