Bioinformatics is the science of developing computer databases and algorithms for the purpose of speeding up and enhancing biological research. Bioinformatics is being used most noticeably in the Human Genome Project, the effort to identify the 80,000 genes in human DNA . New academic programs are training students in bioinformatics by providing them with backgrounds in molecular biology and in computer science, including database design and analytical approaches. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, is offering both a bachelor of science and a master's degree in bioinformatics and molecular biology.
Much information that has been captured is not yet available in the databases. The databases themselves are expected to be publicly online and Internet-accessible by the end of 2003. Database information will be analyzed for new information as new algorithms are developed. Motorola is working on a biochip, a processor expressly designed to speed up experiments with different combinations of protein-DNA reactions.
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