Sequence alignment is trying to match a DNA or amino acid sequence, even though the sequences might not be exactly the same, otherwise it would be a straight up string-search algorithm.
This is fundamental in bioinformatics for two reasons:
- when you sequence the DNA of a new species, you can guess what each protein does by comparing it with similar proteins in other species that you have already studied
- when doing DNA sequencing, and specially short-read DNA sequencing, you generally need to align the reads to reference genomes to know where you are inside the entire genome, and then be able to spot mutations, notably single-nucleotide polymorphisms
BLAST is a sequence alignment.
The NCBI free-to-use BLAST server: blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi. Having a centralized query server is fundamental, because the gain of sequence alignment really comes from having one huge database to link information together, which is best centralized.
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Computational biology is an interdisciplinary field that applies computational techniques and tools to analyze and model biological systems, processes, and data. It involves the use of algorithms, mathematical models, and statistical methods to understand biological phenomena, particularly at the molecular and cellular levels. Key areas of focus within computational biology include: 1. **Genomics**: Analyzing DNA sequences to understand genetic variation, gene function, and evolutionary relationships. This includes tasks like genome assembly, annotation, and comparison.