Practical Bioinformatics is specifically designed as an introduction to bioinformatics sequence analysis. Many readers are exploring their future paths or are fascinated by the headlines about interesting gene discoveries and want to understand more. There is heavy emphasis on the steps required to perform bioinformatics analysis to answer biological questions. The book contains many exercises such as database searches, protein analysis, and data interpretation to complement the straightforward and practical topics. The chapters are focused on DNA, RNA, and protein sequence analysis—frequently performed subsets of the field of bioinformatics—taking the reader through the commonly asked question “what can I learn about this sequence?”

Established scientists at universities, biotech and pharmaceutical companies are finding their work is becoming more dependent on bioinformatics and are missing these skills. More and more, genomic data has become part of their daily lives, and the pace is accelerating. Those not trained in bioinformatics will find that this book will serve as a solid foundation for terms and concepts of genomics and bioinformatics. With this new knowledge, you will have a better appreciation of new developments in your field and can turn a more critical eye towards the information crossing your desk.