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Bioinformatics and computational biology involve the use of techniques including applied mathematics, informatics, statistics, computer science, artificial intelligence, chemistry and biochemistry to solve biological problems usually on the molecular level. Research in computational biology often overlaps with systems biology. Major research efforts in the field include sequence alignment, gene finding, genome assembly, protein structure alignment, protein structure prediction, prediction of gene ex-pression and protein-protein interactions, and the modeling of evolution
Sequence assembly
The genome of an organism is assembled from thousands of fragments which must be correctly "stitched" together. This process, which requires the use of sophisticated computer-based methods, is carried out by a specialist in Bioinformatics.
Sequence (gene) analysis
Once the DNA sequence of a fragment of the genome has been determined, the work has just begun; one must next understand what the function of the gene is. This involves locating regions of the gene that code for a protein product, that are involved in regulation and control, and also finding those sections of the gene (introns) that are clipped out and discarded. The gene may be compared against databases of known genes with well-understood function, to find clues to its role in health or disease. All of these analyses are carried out using powerful computers and specialized software, and many would consider this activity the most important area of focus within Bioinformatics
Proteomics
A relatively new area, proteomics studies not the entire genome, but rather the portion of the genome that is expressed in particular cells. This often involves cutting-edge technology, such as the use of micro arrays, which allows the ex-pression level of thousands of genes in a cell sample to be quickly determined. Once a large and diverse database of ex-pression data has been collected, the next step is to identify connections between the patterns of ex-pression of genes and a particular disease state. In this way, likely targets for drug and/or gene therapy can be located. Bioinformatics specialists work closely with bench scientists to accomplish the "data mining" that lies behind this next wave of the pharmaceutical industry
The career prospect in the field has been steadily increasing with more and more use of information technology in the field of molecular biology. Job prospects are in all sectors of biotechnology, pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences, in research institutions, hospital and industry. Some of the specific career areas that fall within the scope of bioinformatics include Sequence assembly, Database design and maintenance, Sequence analysis, Proteomics (the study of protein, particularly their structures and functions), Pharmacogenomics, Pharmacology, Clinical pharmacologist, Informatics developer, Computational chemist, Bio-analytics and Analytics etc.