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The main, most revolutionary advances in biology during this century have arisen from information being provided from revealing different organisms' complete genomes. The discoveries deriving from genomics are leading to a new paradigm in biology, the era of gene-centred biology being substituted for that centred on genomes. Such new concepts represent the basis for developments with great potential and social impact in different areas such as medicine, agriculture and industry. The successful development of latestgeneration methods for genome sequencing, proteomics and all the other "-omics" has contributed towards an enormous amount of genetic data being produced that needs to be analyzed using computational tools. This has led to the development of a new area called bioinformatics or computational biology. The present work gives a general overview of the development of bioinformatics and computational biology in Colombia. The justification for the establishment of a National bioinformatics and computational biology centre is discussed, as well as some aspects that will be crucial for developing this science in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article presents a study that investigates the computational biology in Colombia. It mentions the use of bioinformatics as a tool in solving particular research problems and the establishment of a strong network for a long term perspective. It states that several public and private research centers and development participated in the development of genomics and bioinformatics in present times especially in the agricultural sector.