Bioinformatics as a modern tool in forensic science for data understanding & investigation in research

Abstract

Modern-day biology is witnessing a data explosion with a vast amount of information generated from ongoing genome and sequencing projects. The abundance of data from genome sequences, functional genomics and another high throughput (HTP) technique with the potential of computing has led to rising of a new discipline namely ‘bioinformatics’. Bioinformatics is a young but fast-growing field for biological data collection, organization, interpretation, and modeling. Tools and techniques for bioinformatics are derived from multidisciplinary combinations of varied disciplines from natural and physical sciences. Previously various disciplines were carved out as and when sufficient specialization was achieved. However, now bioinformatics is borne out of an alliance between existing disciplines from life and non-life. Bioinformatics encompasses new foundations for the collection, organization, and mining of gene/ protein sequences, three-dimensional structures, and biochemical functions, for modeling biological processes of functioning cells. DNA sequencing performed on an industrial scale has produced a vast amount of data to analyze. Although the Human Genome Project is officially over, improvements in DNA sequencing continue to be made. The field of forensic science is increasingly based on biomolecular data and many European countries are establishing forensic databases to store DNA profiles of crime scenes of known offenders and apply DNA testing.