BIOINFORMATICS I
(objectives)
The course aims to train students in various sectors of Bioinformatics, with particular attention to the knowledge of innovative tools used to support research in the biological field. In detail, the training objectives concern: 1) Basic knowledge of biological databases 2) Query of biological databases in a programmatic way (examples of programmatic query of the various NCBI databases, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/guide/all/, through the use of API- application programming interface). 3) Pairwise alignment algorithms of nucleotide and amino acid sequences; 4) Substitution matrices; 5) Heuristic algorithms for local alignment of sequences against sequence databases. 6) Multiple sequence alignment algorithms 7) Methods for the construction of phylogenetic trees 8) Database search methods through multiple sequence alignments 9) 9) Algorithms for the prediction of RNA structure 10) Algorithms for the prediction of secondary structure of proteins 11) Methods for the comparison between protein structures 12) Classical algorithms for the prediction of protein folding 13) Algorithms based on machine learning for the prediction of protein folding
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. Students must show that they have learned bioinformatics topics included in the course, namely: acquisition of the basic principles of bioinformatics; how biological databases are designed, managed and populated; how sequence similarity searches and alignments of single or multiple sequences are performed; how evolutionary analysis of sequence data is performed through multiple alignments and construction of phylogenetic trees; how secondary and tertiary protein structure predictions are made.
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. Students should have an understanding of the computational approaches discussed in class and be able to apply them to specific biological problems.
AUTONOMY OF JUDGMENT. Students must be able to critically interpret the results obtained through the bioinformatics tools discussed in class, as well as choose the most suitable ones to reach a specific goal.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS. Students must have the ability to transmit the knowledge acquired in a clear and understandable way, even to non-competent people, and must demonstrate the ability to present the acquired information.
LEARNING ABILITY. Students should be able to describe the various topics of Bioinformatics, in oral form. This ability will be developed through active involvement in oral discussions in the classroom and exercises carried out in the computer room on specific topics related to the course.
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