Wednesday 25 December 2013

Applications and limitations of bioinformatics

Applications:
Bioinformatics has not only become essential for basic genomic and molecular biology research, but is having a major impact on many areas of biotechnology and biomedical sciences. It has applications, for example, in knowledge-based drug design,
forensic DNA analysis, and
agricultural biotechnology.
Computational studies of protein–ligand interactions provide a rational basis for the rapid identification of novel leads for synthetic drugs. Knowledge of the three-dimensional structures of proteins allows molecules to be designed that are capable of binding to the receptor site of a target protein with great affinity and specificity. This informatics-based approach significantly reduces the time and cost necessary to develop drugs with higher potency, fewer side effects, and less toxicity than using the traditional trial-and-error approach.
In forensics, results from molecular phylogenetic analysis have been accepted as evidence in criminal courts. Some sophisticated Bayesian statistics and likelihood-based methods for analysis of DNA have been applied in the analysis of forensic identity.
It is worth mentioning that genomics and bioinformtics are now poised to revolutionize our healthcare system by developing personalized and customized medicine. The high speed genomic sequencing coupled with sophisticated informatics technology will allow a doctor in a clinic to quickly sequence a patient’s genome and easily detect potential harmful mutations and to engage in early diagnosis and effective treatment of diseases. Bioinformatics tools are being used in agriculture as well. Plant genome
databases and gene expression profile analyses have played an important role in the development of new crop varieties that have higher productivity and more resistance to disease.



Limitations :
Bioinformatics predictions are not formal proofs of any concepts. They
do not replace the traditional experimental research methods of actually testing hypotheses. In addition, the quality of bioinformatics predictions depends on the quality of data and the sophistication of the algorithms being used. Sequence data from high throughput analysis often contain errors. If the sequences are wrong or annotations incorrect, the results from the downstream analysis are misleading as well.

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