Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., Volume 23, Number 6, December, 2000 705-711

MINIREVIEW
Bioinformatics
A User's Perspective

Naftali Kaminski

Lung Biology Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California; and Functional Genomics Unit, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel

This review provides an overview of bioinformatics from the user's point of view. Bioinformatics, defined as the application of computers, databases, and computational methods to the management of biologic information, is essential for almost every aspect of data management in modern biology. The rapid accumulation of genomic sequence information together with the wide availability of new technologies that analyze global gene expression patterns have created an information overload. Molecular biology labs are increasingly dependent on computers, large-capacity databases, search and analysis tools, and high-quality Internet connections. Currently available bioinformatics tools are discussed and a general approach is outlined. Using the resources and approaches in this review, readers should be able to form their own view of bioinformatics and tailor the solutions to the information overload according to their needs.

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