Information problems in molecular biology and bioinformatics

Abstract

In this article we provide an overview of opportunities for research and practice in the domain of molecular biology by information and library scientists. We introduce the changing role of data and information in molecular biology, and how molecular biology is evolving from a technique-and technology-driven science to an information-driven science. We then describe the highlevel objectives of molecular biology and some broad classes of problems from an information perspective. We illustrate the high-level objectives with examples of specific tasks performed by biologists. Finally, we provide some programmatic direction for information and library science research streams and insertion points.

Comparing bioinformatics software development by computer scientists and biologists: An exploratory study

“…Journal articles, conference proceedings, and books are prominent sources. Consistent with other previous studies [1,6,15] both groups of researchers and practitioners relied heavily on non-bibliographic information sources. Colleagues also emerged as a significant source of information for both MBB and CS participants since much of bioinformatics software development is a collaborative effort.…”

“…For example, MacMullen & Denn's [6] research into information tasks of biologists revealed three categories: sequence alignment (i.e. sequences of DNA), structure prediction (i.e.…”

“…Only recently have studies on end-user programming [5,8] and information activities in bioinformatics [1,6] started to emerge. Despite these efforts, there still is a gap in our understanding of problems in bioinformatics software development, how domain knowledge among MBB and CS experts is exchanged, and how the software development process in this domain can be improved.…”

Developing data literacy competencies to enhance faculty collaborations

“…Best practices for implementing similar programs have been delineated (Badotti et al, 2013;Bednarski et al, 2005;Miskowski, Howard, Abler, & Grunwald, 2007;Via et al, 2011;Weisman, 2010), while others have discussed the programmatic role librarians can provide in supporting molecular biologists as they navigate the myriad data resources (MacMullen & Denn, 2005). Effective collaborations between librarians and the life sciences faculty have also been described in the literature (Bowden & DiBenedetto, 2001;Brown & Krumholz, 2002;Callinan, 2005;Dinkelman, 2010;Ferrer-Vinent & Carello, 2008;MacMillan, 2010;Winterman, 2009).…”

Bioinformatics : Latest Application and Interdisciplinary Field of Computer Science

“…Molecular biologists are generally interested in the "functional aspect" of bioinformatics, such as analyzing data, discovering patterns, and developing methods of prediction for functions of organisms [6]. The computer scientists involved in this field mainly develop algorithms and information systems for storage, retrieval and analysis of biological data [7].…”