Rating:

The web links associated with the book are outdated and do not appear to be updated by the publisher to keep up with changes. If a web site is associated with a book, it should at the very least keep up with changes. In a quickly changing field such as bioinformatics these updates are absolutely critical.

The book is also overpriced given the low quality content and paperback binding. The figures are subpar with only purple and gray coloring. I would expect at least a few full color figures for a book at this price point.

Overall I would say that this book is not a useful tool for teaching bioinformatics or genomics.

Rating:

Intermixed with the case studies is textual materials that provide the student with the basic background that they need. In addition there are almost random Math Minutes and Discovery Questions that direct the student into further depth of understanding.

If you are planning to teach this kind of class, you owe it to yourself to at least investigate this book before selecting a text.

Rating:

The approach to figuring out what, where and how genes are controlled using what are called circuits is simply fascinating. Genes are controlled in three ways: location of the gene, the time of control and the amount. These three metrics can easily be mapped to circuit diagram in Electrical Engineering using the concept of switches (transistors) and time varying influencers (control theory and feedback loops), the authors describe of genes are regulated. One can imagine that the process of mapping genes into circuits is a difficult task, and one would be right. In fact, only one gene, the Endo16, has been fully expressed in circuit diagrams and that task took years of research. Imagine the amount of man power and hours it would take to draw the circuit diagram for the entire human genome of over 35000 genes! Even the concepts of noise in the circuit and complex integrated circuits are explored in details. The authors make no hesitation in telling the readers what the unknowns are and what topics are under intense investigation. It is amazing to realize that we still a long way to go, and what we are seeing thus far is just the beginning on a very long journey.

In general, the book is very interactive filled with Discovery Questions, Math Minutes and a CD simply filled with tons and tons of pictures that are in PDF format that can be printed in need be. There is also a Web site that accompanies this book that explains various bioinformatics methods, and contains information required by some of the Discovery Questions. The text itself is divided into four units:

1) Genomic Sequences which talks about the whole picture of genomic analysis and its benefits. The question of why this field of study is so important and what we hope to gain from in the coming years and decades is also answered. The students are exposed to topics in the areas of biological weapons, antibiotics and how they work, the evolution and survival of DNA and ethical consequences of genetics and genetic engineering.

2) Genomic Expressions in which the how and where questions are answered in detail. How did we gather all of this information? DNA microarrays are discussed in detail including advanced research in the area and who is doing in. Proteins microarrays are also discussed, but not in as much details due to the fact that protein microarrays are very much in their infancies. The authors do make a number of predictions in terms of where the proteomics area of research is heading and what we need to get there.

3) Whole Genome Perspective. The bottom up approach takes the readers to the whole genome analysis, and that’s where the authors discuss the notions of electronic circuits in describing the genome and proteins prescription.

4) Medical Case studies in the areas of drug discovery bring this book to an end. The authors tackle questions such as how a disease is discovered and researched, and go into some of the misconceptions of drug discovery and end the book with why discovering a new drug is such a difficult task.

A complete text with the entire information one would need to come up to speed with the area of life sciences. A good mix of biology, mathematics, statistics, engineering and computer science give the reader a comprehensive overview of the current problems, research areas and new developments in the field of bioinformatics.

I recommend this text for a bioinformatics course with students of biology with little mathematics and statistics background. The text is easy to read and follow. The accompanying CD-Rom is field with relevant pictures, graphs, etc, that can further the learning process.