Although mostly geared to molecular biology software, this volume contains interesting and useful data extensive to many branches of informational biology. As stated in the preface: “Bioinformatics has helped to make possible the current revolution in modern biology. It is only by understanding and wisely using this resource that we will be able to push the frontier forward”.
The book consists of 28 chapters ordered into five main parts: Sequence analysis packages, Molecular biology software, Web‐based resources, Computers and molecular biology, and Teaching bioinformatics.
Of special interest for readers of this journal are the following items:
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(1) Chapters 9, 15 and 16 offer computer resources for bioscientists available in the Web and assistance in having access to free software on the Internet.
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(2) Chapter 10 deals with similarity searching for DNA sequence database.
- 3.
(3) Chapter 21 provides ample information on how to obtain laboratory supplies in WWW.
- 4.
(4) Chapter 23 deals with computing with DNA. This is a new paradigm that utilizes biomolecular manipulations to solve computational problems. The scientific community was surprised in 1994 when L. Adleman solved an instance of the directed Hamiltonian path problem (an example is the traveling salesman’s search for the simplest path to take him around several cities). The main idea here is encoding of data in DNA strands and using tools from molecular biology to execute computational operations. This approach has the potential to out‐perform electronic computers, because it:
uses 106 times less energy than an electronic computer;
stores data in 109 times less space; and
performs most of computations in parallel.
- 1.
(5) The last four chapters are applied to teaching bioinformatics, keeping up‐to‐date with the literature and creating awareness of the “virtual library” from MEDLINE to grants and funding information.
The text, to which 31 authors, mostly from Canada and the USA, contributed, is handsomely printed on acid‐free paper (exacting environmentalists will be pleased!) and is well organized with numbered paragraphs. I did not notice any typographical error. I only wish that the page heading would include the chapter number. It is to be recommended for those readers desiring to know how to connect efficiently with the Internet or the biosciences field.
