Bioinformatics is the application of computer technology to biology in order to
harness the voluminous amount of genetic and other biological information emerging
from numerous biological research endevours.
Bioinformatics is essential for using genomic information to understand human
diseases and identify new molecular targets for drug discovery. As biologists
create genetic road maps of living beings, bioinformatics harvest that
information through use of specialized computer software programs for database
creation, data management, data warehousing, data mining and global communications.
On yet another level, bioinformatics occupies a central and essential role in
drug discovery. Classical drug discovery has largely proceeded on the basis of
trial and error. For every minor breakthrough, numerous failures have been
documented. Bioinformatics has essentially replaced bench chemistry in the hunt
for better drugs. High throughput screening and combinatorial chemistry provide
a bioinformatics framework by which researchers can identify synthetic molecules
for treating human disease or new drug targets for therapeutic intervention.
Bioinformatics has thus become the latest frontier in the discovery of new
medicines and public health issues. It is certain to influence the future of
drug development, pharmacogenetics, clinical industrial management and patient
stratification in the clinical-testing process. It has also become a driving
force furthering agribusiness interests in sustainable development and
environmental protection by improving, for example, crop production.