Description
In tandem with the new field of genomics and the World Wide Web, bioinformatics emerged in the mid-1990s to track, analyze, and disseminate genome mapping data. These 23 articles sample the interdisciplinary field somewhat arbitrarily cleaved into sections on databases and software. Database papers representing recent systems such as Entrez and HOVERGEN focus on either the comparative molecular or single organism level. Integrating data from heterogenous sources is the challenge tackled by software contributors. The SRS system is described as occupying a novel middle ground between federation and warehousing, the main ways to achieve integration. Other papers confront compatibility issues between new software and existing systems, with COBRA considered a possible solution. Illustrated with flowcharts of biomedical data models and screen displays. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Bioinformatics brings computational methods to the analysis and processing of genomic data. Bioinformatics: Databases and Systems focuses on the issues of system building and data curation that dominate the day-to-day concerns of bioinformatics practitioners. Included are chapters by many of today's leading bioinformatics practitioners, describing most of the current paradigms of system building and curation, including both their strengths and weaknesses. Biological topics covered include sequence databases, metabolic pathways, phenotypes, variety collections, gene expression atlases and neuroinformatics. Species range from bacteria to mammals to plants. Software systems and technologies covered include OPM, CORBA, SRS, KLEISLI, ACEDB, Web-based integration and laboratory workflow. Bioinformatics: Databases and Systems provides a valuable introduction for newcomers to the field, and a useful reference for veterans.
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