Common language of bioinformatics

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe The most effective solution for overcoming this limitation, as vast quantities of genomic data stream in from private industry and the public

sector, are partnerships between groups specializing in bioinformatics and those in genetic mapping, physical mapping and genomic sequencing. But before going further, it is necessary to

define some terms in the quest for a common language. With the development of molecular biology over the past couple of decades, ever more powerful tools have been developed to dissect the

role of genes in a wide assortment of traits, such as diseases of various organisms. In addition, new information has helped in the understanding of inherited traits and their influence on

behaviour. More recently, as a result of computational and engineering advances engendered by the Human Genome Project, the field of genomics has emerged. Genomics has two major components:

DNA sequencing in the molecular genetics laboratory; and bioinformatics, another new term which was spawned by genomics. Thus, genomics is a combination of complete nucleotide sequences for

any organism and the information tools required for analysis of data. Bioinformatics is defined as the computational systems used to collect, store and analyse biological information. These

include software systems that take in DNA sequence data, database systems that store data, and software systems that analyse stored data. This is a preview of subscription content, access

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Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * the Genomics National Center for Genome Resources

(NCGR), Santa Fe, 87505, New Mexico, USA Bruno W. S. Sobral Authors * Bruno W. S. Sobral View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND

PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Sobral, B. Common language of bioinformatics. _Nature_ 389, 418 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/38799 Download

citation * Issue Date: 25 September 1997 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/38799 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable

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