bioinformatics

[ bahy-oh-in-fer-mat-iks ]

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. the retrieval and analysis of biochemical and biological data using mathematics and computer science, as in the study of genomes.

bioinformatics

/ ˌbaɪəʊˌɪnfəˈmætɪks /

noun

1. the branch of information science concerned with large databases of biochemical or pharmaceutical information

bioinformatics

/ bī′ō-ĭn′fər-măt′ĭks /

1. Information technology as applied to the life sciences, especially the technology used for the collection and analysis of genomic data.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bioinformatics¹

First recorded in 1975–80; bio- ( def ) + informatics ( def )

Example Sentences

“The breadth of vector research has something for everyone whether you are an entomologist that likes bugs, taxonomy and systematics, ecology, disease epidemiology, protein biochemistry and bioinformatics, genomics or field studies. The more we learn about hemophages, the more we realize how intricate they are. You must admire them for their complexity. Even if they turn out to be living nightmares.”

From Salon

Tim Sackton, director of Bioinformatics for the FAS Informatics Group at Harvard University, notes that while we can easily look at a sequenced genome and identify where the genes that code for proteins are, the other parts that control where and when these genes are expressed is something we’re still trying to figure out.

From Salon

“The sort of simple way that I typically define convergent evolution,” Tim Sackton, director of bioinformatics at Harvard University’s FAS Informatics Group, told Salon, “is if there’s a trait that you see in some species, whatever it is, that evolved independently.”

From Salon

Karlseder and colleagues collaborated closely with experts at Oxford Nanopore Technologies to combine aspects of their long-read sequencing technique with novel biochemistry and bioinformatics approaches.

From Science Daily

Current bioinformatics tools can’t scan this much data all at once, especially for sequences that haven’t yet been assembled into genomes.

From Science Magazine