SERIES ON ADVANCES IN BIOINFORMATICS AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY – serie

This book demonstrates the power of mathematical thinking in understanding the biological complexity that exists within the brain. It looks at the latest research on modelling of biochemical pathways within synapses, and provides a clear background for the study of mathematical models related to systems biology. Discussion then focusses on developments in computational models based on networks linked to synaptic plasticity. The models are used to understand memory formation and impairment and they provide a mathematical basis for memory research.Computational Systems Biology of Synaptic Plasticity is a valuable source of knowledge to postgraduate students and researchers in computational systems biology, and as a reference book for various techniques that are needed in modelling biological processes.

Many biological systems and objects are intrinsically fuzzy as their properties and behaviors contain randomness or uncertainty. In addition, it has been shown that exact or optimal methods have significant limitation in many bioinformatics problems. Fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic are ideal to describe some biological systems/objects and provide good tools for some bioinformatics problems. This book comprehensively addresses several important bioinformatics topics using fuzzy concepts and approaches, including measurement of ontological similarity, protein structure prediction/analysis, and microarray data analysis. It also reviews other bioinformatics applications using fuzzy techniques.Sample Chapter(s)

This is a handbook of methods and protocols for biologists. It aimed at undergraduate, graduate students and researchers originally trained in biological or medical sciences who need to know how to access the data archives of genomes, proteins, metabolites, gene expression profiles and the questions these data and tools can answer. For each chapter, the conceptual and experimental background is provided, together with specific guidelines for handling raw data, including preprocessing and analysis.The content is structured into three parts. Part one introduces basic knowledge about popular bioinformatics tools, databases and web resources. Part two presents examples of omics bioinformatics applications. Part three provides basic statistical analysis skills and programming skills needed to handle and analyze omics datasets.

Over 500 prokaryotic genomes have been sequenced to date, and thousands more have been planned for the next few years. While these genomic sequence data provide unprecedented opportunities for biologists to study the world of prokaryotes, they also raise extremely challenging issues such as how to decode the rich information encoded in these genomes. This comprehensive volume includes a collection of cohesively written chapters on prokaryotic genomes, their organization and evolution, the information they encode, and the computational approaches needed to derive such information. A comparative view of bacterial and archaeal genomes, and how information is encoded differently in them, is also presented. Combining theoretical discussions and computational techniques, the book serves as a valuable introductory textbook for graduate-level microbial genomics and informatics courses.Sample Chapter(s)

High-throughput sequencing and functional genomics technologies have given us the human genome sequence as well as those of other experimentally, medically, and agriculturally important species, thus enabling large-scale genotyping and gene expression profiling of human populations. Databases containing large numbers of sequences, polymorphisms, structures, metabolic pathways, and gene expression profiles of normal and diseased tissues are rapidly being generated for human and model organisms. Bioinformatics is therefore gaining importance in the annotation of genomic sequences; the understanding of the interplay among and between genes and proteins; the analysis of the genetic variability of species; the identification of pharmacological targets; and the inference of evolutionary origins, mechanisms, and relationships. This proceedings volume contains an up-to-date exchange of knowledge, ideas, and solutions to conceptual and practical issues of bioinformatics by researchers, professionals, and industry practitioners at the 6th Asia-Pacific Bioinformatics Conference held in Kyoto, Japan, in January 2008.Sample Chapter(s)

Research in the field of gene regulation is evolving rapidly in the ever-changing scientific environment. Advances in microarray techniques and comparative genomics have enabled more comprehensive studies of regulatory genomics. The study of genomic binding locations of transcription factors has enabled a more comprehensive modeling of regulatory networks. In addition, complete genomic sequences and comparison of numerous related species have demonstrated the conservation of non-coding DNA sequences, which often provide evidence for cis-regulatory binding sites. Systematic methods to decipher the regulatory mechanism are also crucial for corroborating these regulatory networks; key to these methods are motif discovery algorithms that can help predict cis-regulatory elements. These DNA-motif discovery programs are becoming more sophisticated and are beginning to leverage evidence from comparative genomics. These topics and more were discussed at the 3rd Annual RECOMB Workshop on Regulatory Genomics, which brought together more than 90 attendees and included about 22 excellent talks from leading researchers in the field. This proceedings volume contains ten selected, original manuscripts that were presented during the workshop.Sample Chapter(s)

High-throughput sequencing and functional genomics technologies have given us a draft human genome sequence and have enabled large-scale genotyping and gene expression profiling of human populations. Databases containing large number of sequences, polymorphisms, and gene expression profiles of normal and diseased tissues in different clinical states are rapidly being generated for human and model organisms. Bioinformatics is thus rapidly growing in importance in the annotation of genomic sequences, in the understanding of the interplay between genes and proteins, in the analysis the genetic variability of species, etc. The 3rd APBC brings together researchers, professionals, and industrial practitioners for interaction and exchange of knowledge and ideas. The proceedings contains the latest results that address conceptual and practical issues of bioinformatics.Papers presented at APBC'05 and included in this proceedings volume span the following: Novel Applications in Bioinformatics, Computational Analysis of Biological Data, Data Mining & Statistical Modeling of Biological Data, Modeling and Simulation of Biological Processes, Visualization of Biological Processes and Data, Management, Migration, and Integration of Biological Databases, Access, Indexing, and Search in Biological Databases.

Information processing and information flow occur in the course of an organism's development and throughout its lifespan. Organisms do not exist in isolation, but interact with each other constantly within a complex ecosystem. The relationships between organisms, such as those between prey or predator, host and parasite, and between mating partners, are complex and multidimensional. In all cases, there is constant communication and information flow at many levels.This book focuses on information processing by life forms and the use of information technology in understanding them. Readers are first given a comprehensive overview of biocomputing before navigating the complex terrain of natural processing of biological information using physiological and analogous computing models. The remainder of the book deals with “artificial” processing of biological information as a human endeavor in order to derive new knowledge and gain insight into life forms and their functioning. Specific innovative applications and tools for biological discovery are provided as the link and complement to biocomputing.Since “artificial” processing of biological information is complementary to natural processing, a better understanding of the former helps us improve the latter. Consequently, readers are exposed to both domains and, when dealing with biological problems of their interest, will be better equipped to grasp relevant ideas.

High-throughput sequencing and functional genomics technologies have given us a draft human genome sequence and have enabled large-scale genotyping and gene expression profiling of human populations. Databases containing large numbers of sequences, polymorphisms, and gene expression profiles of normal and diseased tissues in different clinical states are rapidly being generated for human and model organisms. Bioinformatics is thus rapidly growing in importance in the annotation of genomic sequences, in the understanding of the interplay between genes and proteins, in the analysis of the genetic variability of species, and so on. This proceedings contains an up-to-date exchange of knowledge, ideas, and solutions to conceptual and practical issues of bioinformatics, by researchers, professionals, and industrial practitioners at the 4th Asia-Pacific Bioinformatics Conference held in Taipei in February 2006.

This volume contains about 40 papers covering many of the latest developments in the fast-growing field of bioinformatics. The contributions span a wide range of topics, including computational genomics and genetics, protein function and computational proteomics, the transcriptome, structural bioinformatics, microarray data analysis, motif identification, biological pathways and systems, and biomedical applications. There are also abstracts from the keynote addresses and invited talks.The papers cover not only theoretical aspects of bioinformatics but also delve into the application of new methods, with input from computation, engineering and biology disciplines. This multidisciplinary approach to bioinformatics gives these proceedings a unique viewpoint of the field.Sample Chapter(s)