An Introduction to Biological Databases

"An Introduction to Biological Databases" typically serves as a comprehensive guide for students, researchers, and professionals in the biological sciences, detailing how to effectively use databases to store, retrieve, and analyze biological data. This book will begin with an overview of the types of biological data available, such as genomic, proteomic, and metabolic pathways data, explaining the importance and challenges of managing vast amounts of biological information. The core chapters might delve into various types of biological databases, including primary databases like GenBank for nucleotide sequences and UniProt for protein sequences; secondary databases that offer annotated datasets; and specialized databases that focus on specific organisms or types of data, such as the Human Genome Database. Further, the book would likely explore the principles of database architecture relevant to biological data storage and retrieval, including relational databases, data warehousing, and the use of SQL for querying databases. It might also cover newer approaches like NoSQL databases and cloud storage solutions tailored for high-throughput data types like next-generation sequencing.