Computational Biology

Computational biology, a branch of biology involving the application of computers and computer science to the understanding and modeling of the structures and processes of life. It entails the use of computational methods (e.g., algorithms) for the representation and simulation of biological systems, as well as for the interpretation of experimental data, often on a very large scale. Computational biology and bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that develops and applies computational methods to analyze large collections of biological data, such as genetic sequences, cell populations or protein samples, to make new predictions or discover new biology. The computational methods used include analytical methods, mathematical modeling and simulation. The beginnings of computational biology essentially date to the origins of computer science. British mathematician and logician Alan Turing, often called the father of computing, used early computers to implement a model of biological morphogenesis (the development of pattern and form in living organisms) in the early 1950s, shortly before his death. At about the same time, a computer called MANIAC, built at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico for weapons research, was applied to such purposes as modeling hypothesized genetic codes. By the 1960s, computers had been applied to deal with much more-varied sets of analyses, namely those examining protein structures.