The goal of this review is to introduce some of the important concepts in bioinformatics that must be considered when planning and executing a modern biological research study.
Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that blends computer science and biostatistics with biological and biomedical sciences such as biochemistry, cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, and physiology. An important goal of bioinformatics is to facilitate the management, analysis, and interpretation of data from biological experiments and observational studies. The goal of this review is to introduce some of the important concepts in bioinformatics that must be considered when planning and executing a modern biological research study. We review database resources as well as data mining software tools. J. Cell. Physiol. 213: 365–369, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.