Whereas genetic studies have traditionally focused on explaining heritance of single traits and their phenotypes, recent technological advances have made it possible to comprehensively dissect the genetic architecture of complex traits and quantify how genes interact to shape phenotypes. This exciting new area has been termed systems genetics and is born out of a synthesis of multiple fields, integrating a range of approaches and exploiting our increased ability to obtain quantitative and ...

Rapid advances in high-throughput genome sequencing technologies foreshadow a near-future in which millions of individuals will gain affordable access to their complete genome sequence. This promises to offer unprecedented insights into the fundamental biological nature of ourselves and our species: where we came from, how we begin our lives, how we develop and grow, how we interact with our environment, how we get sick, how we get well, and how we age. Personal genomics is an essential co...

  James A. Shapiro proposes an important new paradigm for understanding biological evolution, the core organizing principle of biology. Shapiro introduces crucial new molecular evidence that tests the conventional scientific view of evolution based on the neo-Darwinian synthesis, shows why this view is inadequate to today's evidence, and presents a compelling alternative view of the evolutionary process that reflects the shift in life sciences...

New insights into the evolution and nature of proteinsExploring several distinct approaches, this book describes the methods for comparing protein sequences and protein structures in order to identify homologous relationships and classify proteins and protein domains into evolutionary families. Readers will discover the common features as well as the key philosophical differences underlying the major protein classification systems, including Pfam, Panther, SCOP, and CATH. Moreover,...

The bestselling introduction to bioinformatics and genomics – now in its third editionWidely received in its previous editions, Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics offers the most broad-based introduction to this explosive new discipline. Now in a thoroughly updated and expanded third edition, it continues to be the go-to source for students and professionals involved in biomedical research.This book provides up-to-the-minute coverage o...

Providing genome-informed personalized treatment is a goal of modern medicine. Identifying new translational targets in nucleic acid characterizations is an important step toward that goal. The information tsunami produced by such genome-scale investigations is stimulating parallel developments in statistical methodology and inference, analytical frameworks, and computational tools. Within the context of genomic medicine and with a strong focus on cancer research, this book describes the i...

Using chips composed of thousands of spots, each with the capability of holding DNA molecules corresponding to a given gene, DNA microarray technology has enabled researchers to measure simultaneously gene expression across the genome. As with other large-scale genomics approaches, microarray technologies are broadly applicable across disciplines of life and biomedical sciences, but remain daunting to many researchers. This guide is designed to demystify the technology and inform more biol...

This book addresses the need for a unified framework describing how soft computing and machine learning techniques can be judiciously formulated and used in building efficient pattern recognition models. The text reviews both established and cutting-edge research, providing a careful balance of theory, algorithms, and applications, with a particular emphasis given to applications in computational biology and bioinformatics. Features: integrates different soft computing and machine learning...

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is the latest high throughput technology to revolutionize genomic research. NGS generates massive genomic datasets that play a key role in the big data phenomenon that surrounds us today. To extract signals from high-dimensional NGS data and make valid statistical inferences and predictions, novel data analytic and statistical techniques are needed. This book contains 20 chapters written by prominent statisticians working with NGS data. The topics range fro...

The only book available in the area of forward-time population genetics simulations—applicable to both biomedical and evolutionary studiesThe rapid increase of the power of personal computers has led to the use of serious forward-time simulation programs in genetic studies. Forward-Time Population Genetics Simulations presents both new and commonly used methods, and introduces simuPOP, a powerful and flexible new program that can be used to simulate arbitrary evolutionary ...

This book serves as an introduction to the myriad computational approaches to gene regulatory modeling and analysis, and is written specifically with experimental biologists in mind. Mathematical jargon is avoided and explanations are given in intuitive terms. In cases where equations are unavoidable, they are derived from first principles or, at the very least, an intuitive description is provided. Extensive examples and a large number of model descriptions are provided for use in both cl...

Recent computational and modeling advances have produced methods for estimating species trees directly, avoiding the problems and limitations of the traditional phylogenetic paradigm where an estimated gene tree is equated with the history of species divergence. The overarching goal of the volume is to increase the visibility and use of these new methods by the entire phylogenetic community by specifically addressing several challenges: (i) firm understanding of the theore...