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Genetic Databases offers a timely analysis of the underlying tensions, contradictions and limitations of the current regulatory frameworks for, and policy debates about, genetic databases. Drawing on original empirical research and theoretical debates in the fields of sociology, anthropology and legal studies, the contributors to this book challenge the prevailing orthodoxy of informed consent and explore the relationship between personal privacy and the public good. They also consider the multiple meanings attached to human tissue and the role of public consultations and commercial involvement in the creation and use of genetic databases.The authors argue that policy and regulatory frameworks produce a representation of participation that is often at odds with the experiences and understandings of those taking part. The findings present a serious challenge for public policy to provide mechanisms to safeguard the welfare of individuals participating in genetic databases.

Sequence similarity is a powerful tool for discovering biological function. Just as the ancient Greeks used comparative anatomy to understand the human body and linguists used the Rosetta stone to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs, today we can use comparative sequence analysis to understand genomes. BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool), is a sophisticated software package for rapid searching of nucleotide and protein databases. It is one of the most important software packages used in sequence analysis and bioinformatics. Most users of BLAST, however, seldom move beyond the program's default parameters, and never take advantage of its full power.BLAST is the only book completely devoted to this popular suite of tools. It offers biologists, computational biology students, and bioinformatics professionals a clear understanding of BLAST as well as the science it supports. This book shows you how to move beyond the default parameters, get specific answers using BLAST, and how to interpret your results. The book also contains tutorial and reference sections covering NCBI-BLAST and WU-BLAST, background material to help you understand the statistics behind BLAST, Perl scripts to help you prepare your data and analyze your results, and a wealth of tips and tricks for configuring BLAST to meet your own research needs. Some of the topics covered include:BLAST basics and the NCBI web interfaceHow to select appropriate search parametersBLAST programs: BLASTN, BLASTP, BLASTX, TBLASTN, TBLASTX, PHI-BLAST, and PSI BLASTDetailed BLAST references, including NCBI-BLAST and WU-BLASTUnderstanding biological sequencesSequence similarity, homology, scoring matrices, scores, and evolutionSequence AlignmentCalculating BLAST statisticsIndustrial-strength BLAST, including developing applications with Perl and BLASTBLAST is the only comprehensive reference with detailed, accurate information on optimizing BLAST searches for high-throughput sequence analysis. This is a book that any biologist should own.

'In this book, Andy Baxevanis and Francis Ouellette... have undertaken the difficult task of organizing the knowledge in this field in a logical progression and presenting it in a digestible form. And they have done an excellent job. This fine text will make a major impact on biological research and, in turn, on progress in biomedicine. We are all in their debt.'—Eric Lander from the Foreword Reviews from the First Edition'...provides a broad overview of the basic tools for sequence analysis... For biologists approaching this subject for the first time, it will be a very useful handbook to keep on the shelf after the first reading, close to the computer.'—Nature Structural Biology'...should be in the personal library of any biologist who uses the Internet for the analysis of DNA and protein sequence data.'—Science'...a wonderful primer designed to navigate the novice through the intricacies of in scripto analysis... The accomplished gene searcher will also find this book a useful addition to their library... an excellent reference to the principles of bioinformatics.'—Trends in Biochemical Sciences This new edition of the highly successful Bioinformatics: A Practical Guide to the Analysis of Genes and Proteins provides a sound foundation of basic concepts, with practical discussions and comparisons of both computational tools and databases relevant to biological research. Equipping biologists with the modern tools necessary to solve practical problems in sequence data analysis, the Second Edition covers the broad spectrum of topics in bioinformatics, ranging from Internet concepts to predictive algorithms used on sequence, structure, and expression data. With chapters written by experts in the field, this up-to-date reference thoroughly covers vital concepts and is appropriate for both the novice and the experienced practitioner. Written in clear, simple language, the book is accessible to users without an advanced mathematical or computer science background. This new edition includes: All new end-of-chapter Web resources, bibliographies, and problem sets Accompanying Web site containing the answers to the problems, as well as links to relevant Web resources New coverage of comparative genomics, large-scale genome analysis, sequence assembly, and expressed sequence tags A glossary of commonly used terms in bioinformatics and genomics Bioinformatics: A Practical Guide to the Analysis of Genes and Proteins, Second Edition is essential reading for researchers, instructors, and students of all levels in molecular biology and bioinformatics, as well as for investigators involved in genomics, positional cloning, clinical research, and computational biology.

Computer access is the only way to retrieve up-to-date sequences and this book shows researchers puzzled by the maze of URLs, sites, and searches how to use internet technology to find and analyze genetic data. The book describes the different types of databases, how to use a specific database to find a sequence that you need, and how to analyze the data to compare it with your own work. The content also covers sequence phenotype, mutation, and genetic linkage databases; simple repetitive DNA sequences; gene feature identification; and prediction of structure and function of proteins from sequence information. This book will be invaluable to those starting a career in life sciences research as well as to established researchers wishing to make full use of available resources. - Describes a wide range of databases: DNA, RNA, protein, pathways, and gene expression - Enables readers to access the information they need from databases on the web - Includes a directory of URLs for easy reference - Invaluable for those starting a career in life sciences research and also for established researchers wishing to make full use of available resources

'Wiley-Interscience.'

Nucleotide Sequences 1986/1987, Volume VII: Structural RNA, Synthetic, and Unannotated Sequences presents data that reflect the information found in GenBank Release 44.0 of August 1986. This book provides information pertinent to the unique international collaboration between two leading nucleotide sequence data libraries, one based in Europe and one in the United States. Organized into three sections, this volume begins with an overview of the sequences, some basic identifying information, and some of the biological annotations. This text then discusses the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Data Library, an international center of fundamental research with its main focus in the fields of cell biology, molecular structures, instrumentation, and differentiation. This book discusses as well the GenBank database established in 1982 by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the U.S National Institutes of Health (NIH). This book is a valuable resource for molecular biologists and other investigators collecting the large number of reported DNA and RNA sequences and making them available in computer-readable form.

Nucleotide Sequences 1986/1987, Volume VIII: Database Directory and Master Indices presents data that reflect the information found in GenBank Release 44.0 of August 1986. This book provides information pertinent to the unique international collaboration between two leading nucleotide sequence data libraries, one based in Europe and one in the United States. Organized into 13 sections, this volume begins with an overview of the sequences, some basic identifying information, and some of the biological annotations. This text then discusses the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Data Library, an international center of fundamental research with its main emphasis in the fields of cell biology, molecular structures, instrumentation, and differentiation. This book discusses as well the GenBank database established in 1982 by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the U.S National Institutes of Health (NIH). This book is a valuable resource for molecular biologists and other investigators collecting the large number of reported DNA and RNA sequences and making them available in computer-readable form.