Past few years have witnessed nothing less than a flood of nucleic acid and protein sequence data. The management of these data would be impossible without computers. Bioinformatics is the combination of biology and information technology. This applied branch of science deals with the computer-based analysis of large biological data sets. Bioinformatics incorporates the development of databases to store and search data, and of statistical tools and algorithms to analyze and determine relationships between biological data sets, such as macromolecular sequences, structures, expression profiles and biochemical pathways. It is mainly used for Map genomes and identifies genes, to determine protein Structure and simulate protein interactions, to discover new therapeutic targets and design medicines aimed at the targets and to assess the effects of virtual mutations on gene function. Computers are required in bioinformatics for their processing speed (allowing repetitive tasks to be carried out quickly and systematically) and for their problem-solving power.

The present edition of the book is an effort to provide introductory information on bioinformatics. The books includes Chapters: Bioinformatics: The Art and Science of Decoding Life, Origin and History of Bioinformatics, Applications of Computers in Bioinformatics Research, Rules-of-thumb for Bioinformatics, Sequencing DNA and RNA, Sequencing Proteins, Archives and Information Retrieval, Available Database, Applications of Bioinformatics, Problems in Bioinformatics, The Biotechnology Information System in India, Bioinformatics: Employment Opportunities, Glossary, Selected References, Important World Wide Web, Important Databases, and Abbreviations.