Post-genome Informatics [Paperback]

Minoru Kanehisa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0198503261 | ISBN-13: 978-0198503262 | Edition: 1

The genome projects have now entered a rapid production phase with complete genome sequences and complete gene catalogues already available for a number of organisms and an increasing number expected shortly. In addition the new DNA and protein chip technologies can produce functional data about genes such as gene expression profiles at a rapid rate. There is therefore a large and ever increasing amount of data about genes and molecules. However there is still a huge gap between information at the molecular level and information at the level of integrated biological systems. It is this gap that is addressed in Post-genome Informatics. Post-genome informatics is the analysis of biological functions in terms of the network of interacting molecules and genes with the aim of understanding how a biological system is organized from its individual building blocks. As well as containing a comprehensive survey of the database and computational technologies relevant to molecular sequence analysis, Post-genome Informatics will provide the reader with a conceptual framework and practical methods for the representation and computation of molecular networks.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[This book] is well timed to help biologists identify the grand challenges facing them in the post-genome era. . . . [N]ot just a guide to the post-genome perplexed, and certainly not a book for biologists looking for a 'how-to' guide to bioinformatics. Indeed, the author deliberately steers well away from detailed discussion ... Rather, the book takes a more theoretical approach, and in doing so, lays a clear and concise groundwork in both molecular genetics and informatics that underpin bioinformatics. It will be an asset to bioinformatics researchers, students, and educators alike. . . . [A] 'must-have' for all with a keen interest in bioinformatics. It's a compact book, with many excellent illustrations and elegant perspectives on the opportunities and challenges in the times ahead. . . . [A] valuable contribution to the bioinformatics literature and the discussions of molecular and higher level networks, and it will be stimulating to all who traverse its pages."--Nature Biotechnology

"Minoru (chemistry, Kyoto U.) addresses the gap between the massive data becoming available at the molecular level now that many whole genomes are being mapped, and information at the level of integrated biological systems. He explains the process of analyzing biological functions in terms of the network of interacting molecules and genes in order to understand how a biological system is organized from its individual blocks. He both surveys the database and computational technologies relevant to molecular sequence analysis, and provides a conceptual framework and practical methods for representing and computing molecular networks. The treatment is based on his lecture series for undergraduate students."--SciTech Book News

"Valuable is provided in understanding the nature of relational databases." -- Doody's

"The focus of this book is bringing to the reader an understanding of how genomic information is transformed from a linear to three-dimensional scale, to accomplish the basic principles of life. This book provides a good introduction to the field for scientists entering this exciting area of research." -- Carla Nishimura, Biotech Software and Internet Report, Vol 1, No 5, 2000

About the Author

Professor Kanehisa is a Principal Investigator in the Genome Informatics Project in Japan. He speaks widely on the subject and is on the editorial board of the journal Bioinformatics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (March 23, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198503261
• ISBN-13: 978-0198503262
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,599,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More Bio than Infomatics, November 7, 2001

By 

Edster "Edster" (Nashua, NH United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Post-genome Informatics (Paperback)

This book does a great job covering the basics of gentics and the problems posed for bioinformatics. How the ATCG build up to amino acids, those into DNA, RNA, Proteins, viruses... Then using each of these hierarchical levels as a point of view for analysis, searching, comparisons. Strong concepts, got me thinking. It's a good primer/ref for this, but that's only half of what I bought the book for. The two stars are earned here.

The Informatics part is a wash over (Extremely weak). They talk about raw data (factual) versus annotation and writeups oriented more for research than comparisions. They mention relational databases, show one simple sample query, and then talk about object oriented programming and it's advantages for two pages. There is no code in this book. There is not a sample data model, nor an attempt to do any modeling of this complex data. No stars earned here, this is not a computer-technical reference. Repeat:This is not a computer-technical reference.

The book does list web references for more information and web sites for updates and flat file feeds. A plus, but if you use a search engine, you can find the same things.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A vision of future directions, February 5, 2002

By 

Steven Forth (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Post-genome Informatics (Paperback)

The previous reviewer is correct that this is not a book on coding or data models. But it is not intended to be. The author has a vision of where bioinformatics needs to go and he articulates this clearly. Most books in the field are blinkered by comparison. Chapter 4 on network analysis of moelecular interactions is a valuable (if general) contribution to the discussion on how computational and systems models can be applied to deepening our understanding of how pathways might actually work, and how these models can be connected to existing data resources.

The references are somewhat patchy, or I would have given the book five stars, but still provide some useful leads.