Practical Computing for Biologists (Paperback)

Steven H.D. Haddock

ISBN 10: 0878933913 / ISBN 13: 9780878933914

Published by Oxford University Press Inc, New York, 2010

About this Item

Paperback. Increasingly, scientists find themselves facing exponentially larger data sets and analyses without suitable tools to deal with them. Many biologists end up using spreadsheet programs for most of their data-processing tasks and spend hours clicking around or copying and pasting, and then repeating the process for other data files.Practical Computing for Biologists shows you how to use many freely available computing tools to work morepowerfully and effectively. The book was born out of the authors' own experience in developing tools for their research and helping other biologists with their computational problems. Although many of thetechniques are relevant to molecular bioinformatics, the motivation for the book is much broader, focusing on topics and techniques that are applicable to a range of scientific endeavors. Twenty-two chapters organized into six parts address these topics (and more; see Contents): *Searching with regular expressions*The Unix command line *Python programming and debugging *Creating and editinggraphics *Databases *Performing analyses on remote servers *Working withelectronicsWhile most of the concepts and examples apply to any operating system, the main narrative focuses on Mac OS X. Where there are differences for Windows and Linux users, parallel instructions are provided in the margin and in an appendix. The book is designed to be used as a self-guided resource for researchers, a companion book in a course, or as a primary textbook. Practical Computing for Biologists will free you fromthe most frustrating and time-consuming aspects of data processing so you can focus on the pleasures of scientific inquiry.RESOURCESForStudentsThe Companion Website includes downloads, community forums, tips and examples, and textbook errata and updates.For InstructorsThe Instructor's Resource Library features all of the textbook's figures and tables, provided in ready-to-use PowerPoint presentations. Published by Sinauer Associates, an imprint of Oxford University Press.Practical Computing for Biologists shows you how to use many freely available computing tools to work more powerfully and effectively. The book was born out of the authors' own experience in developing tools for their research and helping other biologists with their computational problems. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780878933914

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Practical Computing for Biologists (Paperback)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, New York
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0878933913
• ISBN 13: 9780878933914
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Shows how to use computing tools to work more powerfully and effectively

About the Author

Steven H.D. Haddock is a Research Scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and adjunct Associate Professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, studying bioluminescence and biodiversity of gelatinous zooplankton. He started programming in BASIC on an Apple ][ and began his undergraduate studies in engineering before deciding to change fields. He took this programming background with him to his graduate studies in Marine Biology, where he quickly realized the advantages that computing skills offered and felt compelled to help foster these abilities in others. He has developed many utilities and devices for research, including instruments to monitor bioluminescence from fireflies, a freezer monitoring system, a web-based conference registration database, and a PCR calculator for smartphones.

Casey W. Dunn, a Professor at Yale University, does research that has a large computational component but always in conjunction with work in the field and lab. His first interest in computers stemmed from building electronics, and he further developed his computational skills working in Silicon Valley while an undergraduate. As his data sets grew larger and larger during grad school and his postdoc, he found himself reaching back to his computer background more often. In the course of his own research and helping other biologists with their computational challenges, he became concerned about the mismatch between training opportunities and the real day-to-day computational problems biologists face.