Abstract
: A flood of data means that many of the challenges in biology are now challenges
in computing. Bioinformatics, the application of computational techniques to analyse the
information associated with biomolecules on a large-scale, has now firmly established
itself as a discipline in molecular biology, and encompasses a wide range of subject areas
from structural biology, genomics to gene expression studies.
In this review we provide an introduction and overview of the current state of the field.
We discuss the main principles that underpin bioinformatics analyses, look at the types
of biological information and databases that are commonly used, and finally examine
some of the studies that are being conducted, particularly with reference to transcription
regulatory systems