module 1 Flashcards
What is bioinformatics?
Bioinformatics is the application of computer technology to manage biological information, particularly in genomics and molecular biology.
True or False: Bioinformatics only deals with DNA sequences.
False
Fill in the blank: The field of bioinformatics emerged in the ________ century.
20th
What year is often associated with the beginning of modern bioinformatics?
1970s
Which of the following is a common application of bioinformatics? A) Drug discovery B) Social media analysis C) Weather prediction
A) Drug discovery
Name one major database used in bioinformatics.
GenBank
What does the acronym BLAST stand for?
Basic Local Alignment Search Tool
True or False: Bioinformatics tools can only be used for research purposes.
False
What is the main purpose of sequence alignment in bioinformatics?
To identify regions of similarity between biological sequences.
Fill in the blank: The ________ project was a significant milestone in bioinformatics that aimed to sequence the entire human genome.
Human Genome
Which bioinformatics tool is primarily used for protein structure prediction?
SWISS-MODEL
What is the primary focus of structural bioinformatics?
The study of the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules.
True or False: The use of bioinformatics is limited to academic research.
False
What type of data does the Protein Data Bank (PDB) contain?
Three-dimensional structures of proteins and nucleic acids.
Who is considered one of the pioneers of bioinformatics?
Margaret Dayhoff
What is the purpose of the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI)?
To provide freely available data and bioinformatics services to the global scientific community.
Fill in the blank: Bioinformatics combines biology, computer science, and ________.
mathematics
What does the acronym NCBI stand for?
National Center for Biotechnology Information
Which bioinformatics tool is used for genomic sequence analysis?
Galaxy
True or False: Bioinformatics only involves computational analysis.
False
What is the significance of data mining in bioinformatics?
It helps in discovering patterns and relationships in large biological datasets.
What is the focus of comparative genomics?
The comparison of genomes from different species to understand their evolutionary relationships.
Fill in the blank: Bioinformatics tools can assist in ________ discovery by analyzing biological data.
drug
Which database is known for storing genetic variation data?
dbSNP
What is the role of algorithms in bioinformatics?
To process and analyze biological data efficiently.
True or False: Bioinformatics is not relevant to personalized medicine.
False
What is a common challenge faced in bioinformatics?
Handling large volumes of data.
What does the tool Ensembl provide?
Genomic data and analysis tools for vertebrate genomes.
Fill in the blank: The ________ is a major resource for protein sequences.
UniProt
Which bioinformatics tool is used for phylogenetic analysis?
MEGA (Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis)
What is the role of visualization tools in bioinformatics?
To help interpret complex biological data through graphical representation.
True or False: Bioinformatics is only applicable to human biology.
False
What type of information can be found in the KEGG database?
Pathway maps and molecular interaction networks.
What is the main goal of systems biology?
To understand the complex interactions within biological systems.
Fill in the blank: The ________ project aimed to catalog all known genes in various organisms.
Gene Ontology
Which bioinformatics tool is specifically designed for RNA-Seq data analysis?
Cufflinks
What is the purpose of the UCSC Genome Browser?
To provide a graphical interface for visualizing genomic data.
True or False: Bioinformatics can help in understanding disease mechanisms.
True
What is the function of the STRING database?
To provide information on protein-protein interactions.
What is a common format for storing sequence data?
FASTA
Fill in the blank: Bioinformatics can aid in ________ research by analyzing genetic data.
cancer
Which bioinformatics tool is used for metagenomic analysis?
QIIME
What does the term ‘big data’ refer to in the context of bioinformatics?
Extremely large datasets that require advanced computational tools for analysis.
True or False: All bioinformatics tools are open-source.
False
What is the importance of reproducibility in bioinformatics research?
It ensures that results can be verified and validated by other researchers.
What is the primary focus of transcriptomics?
The study of the transcriptome, including mRNA expression levels.
