An introduction to the world of bioinformatics

Massive increases in computing power and the ability to routinely sequence whole genomes of living organisms have begun to fundamentally alter our understanding of biology, medicine, and agriculture. At the intersection of the growing information and genomics revolutions sits bioinformatics, which uses modern computational power to reveal patterns in biological data sets, especially DNA, RNA, and protein sequences.

Computational Biology: A Hypertextbook, by Scott Kelley and Dennis Didulo, provides a wonderful introduction for anyone who wants to learn the basics of bioinformatics. This book is more than a textbook because of the wealth of online ancillary materials and how the print and electronic components are integrated to form a complete educational resource. Aspects that make Computational Biology: A Hypertextbook a unique and valuable tool for teaching and learning bioinformatics include
* Clear explanations of the basic biology of DNA, RNA, and proteins and how the related bioinformatics algorithms work
* Extensive exercises that enable students to practice with the same bioinformatics applications that are used by scientists worldwide
* Tutorials, sample data sets, and interactive learning tools developed with teachers in mind and field-tested by hundreds of students
* Online tutorials and curated web links that are accurate (instead of frustrating!) and won't lead to dead ends
* Online resources that work on multiple platforms and electronic devices

Computational Biology: A Hypertextbook is written in an accessible voice, punctuated with humor, and designed to significantly increase computational competencies. Biology and computer science undergraduate and graduate students will thoroughly enjoy learning from this unique hypertextbook, as will anyone with an interest in exploring this burgeoning topic.