What is bioinformatics?

I looked into that field a few years ago because I thought it would be interesting. The information I found make me think again.

Essentially the field involves creating computer software used in genetics research. Genetic information is voluminous and needs creative ways to store and mine the data in order to find genetic defects, diseases, and other genetic information.

It was a huge field with large salaries a while back but it seems to have leveled off. If someone is really interested it is probably a good field. The marriage between computer software and genetic engineering is not likely to go away anytime soon. But the days of growing salaries and high demand seems to have disappeared already.

As with all software careers these days, the biggest threat to the stability of the field is cheaper foreign labor.

Bioinformatics uses computers to analyze huge amounts of data. The bottom line is, this is the future of scientific research in biology and it pertains to EVERYTHING. For example, using bioinformatics we can examine the genetic profile of cancerous cells and determine exactly which proteins are expresses at different stages and what they do. This information can be used to tailor treatments specifically to patients.

People who pursue bioinformatics do not develop software, they utilize software in scientific research. They use it to analyze huge amounts of data that are not possible to analyze using any other technique. Your daughter has a bright future ahead of her in any company interested in remaining competitive in scientific fields such as pharmacology, cancer research, developmental biology, biochemistry, genetics, medicinal chemistry, etc.