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General Discussion

Marc Smith
Marc Smith
2,038 Points
Posted by Marc Smith
Marc Smith
2,038 Points

Hi, I'm a Biomedical science student and would like to learn skills relevant to Bioinformatics. Where should I start?

I am new to programming. I want to know what I would be best to begin with here, in relation to bioinformatics. Data science track or python? or another one? Anyone have any idea?

1 Answer

Mel Rumsey
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MOD
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Mel Rumsey
Treehouse Moderator
Mel Rumsey
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Mel Rumsey
Treehouse Moderator

Hi there Marc Smith ! I had to look up bioinformatics as I am not familiar with it. I googled a similar question as the one you asked and found several helpful links:

This one states the pros and cons with Python in Bioinformatics: +) Python: Advantages: Clear language. Usually there is only one way to program with Python. "The right one". It is simple and stable. Biopython doesn't have as many modules as Bioperl, but they work (http://biopython.org/wiki/Main_Page). Disadvantages: It doesn't have a central repository, so sometimes you need to visit two or three webpages before you can install a module.

This one also has some good information.

As far as what track you would want to start with, I would say the Python Development track would be a good start. While the DataAnalysis track also teaches you the basics of Python, there are other technologies in the DataAnalysis track that you would be learning that I did not see listed as tools for Bioinformatics.

If you just want to learn Python basic programming, I think that the Python trackwould be a great place to start.

Hope this helps!