Tag: Bioinformatics

Molecular Biochemistry: The Mother of Bioinformatics

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. By controlling information flow through biochemical signaling and the flow of chemical energy through metabolism, biochemical processes give rise to the complexity of life. Over the last decades of the 20th century, biochemistry has become so successful at explaining living processes that now almost all areas of the life sciences from botany to medicine to genetics are engaged in biochemical research.

Biochemistry is closely related to molecular biology, the study of the molecular mechanisms by which genetic information encoded in DNA is able to result in the processes of life. Depending on the exact definition of the terms used, molecular biology can be thought of as a branch of biochemistry, or biochemistry as a tool with which to investigate and study molecular biology.

Much of biochemistry deals with the structures, functions and interactions of biological macromolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids, which provide the structure of cells and perform many of the functions associated with life. Continue reading at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochemistry

Molecular biology is the study of molecular underpinnings of the processes of replication, transcription, translation, and cell function. The central dogma of molecular biology where genetic material is transcribed into RNA and then translated into protein, despite being an oversimplified picture of molecular biology, still provides a good starting point for understanding the field.

Researchers in molecular biology use specific techniques native to molecular biology but increasingly combine these with techniques and ideas from genetics and biochemistry.

Increasingly many other areas of biology focus on molecules, either directly studying interactions in their own right such as in cell biology and developmental biology, or indirectly, where molecular techniques are used to infer historical attributes of populations or species, as in fields in evolutionary biology such as population genetics and phylogenetics. Continue reading at
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_biology

Journal of Molecular Biochemistry:
http://www.jmolbiochem.com/index.php/JmolBiochem

Overview of What is Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is the application of computer technology to the understanding and effective use of biological data. In other words, it helps to convert “big data” into “smart data” or knowledge. Computing has become a central component of modern scientific research: large volumes of data (“big data”) are generated by increasingly automated measuring devices. These data need to be stored, organized and analysed to extract new insights and knowledge. Because new discoveries often reveal their relevance when they are compared with the already available knowledge, extensive comparison with large datasets is a great advantage. In addition, computational simulation has become a third pillar of science – along with experimentation and theory – allowing researchers to advance their understanding of complex systems in silico. Continue reading on Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics