Bioinformatics: prospect, application and the way forward

Abstract

The world of bioinformatics is fast expanding into the mainstream of both molecular and computational biology. Bioinformatics is a new discipline that can be described as the science of collecting, modelling, storing, searching, annotating, and analysing biological information. It contains data for complex protein structures such as DNA or RNA that carry out catalysis, sense metabolites and synthesize proteins. The dynamics and structural nature of proteins present a whole new set of informatics challenges to computational community. The ability to relate the traits of protein biomolecules to function in molecular medicine, agriculture, and energy will provide a key to understand this complex world of biotechnology. Advances in nanofabrication of biosensing interfaces in nanotechnology have dramatically impacted on biosensor research in the last few years. Biosensing interfaces has contributed to the rise of self assembles monolayers (SAMs) that give molecular level control over the fabrication of biosensing interface. Nano-wire sensors that range from 1 nm to 100 nm are being used to detect biochemical species at very low concentrations, single viruses and bacteria, DNA sequence variations, small molecular protein interactions and in environmental and food analysis. This paper outlines the current trends and future challenges in bioinformatics.