Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 2.1
A disciplinary map of “informatics,” “bioinformatics,” “computational biology,” “biology,”
and “systems biology” according to one practitioner. (Christopher Burge, “Introduction to Computational
and Systems Biology” (7.91), lecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, February 8, 2007. Repro-
duced with permission.)
their own in-house bioinformatics departments supporting their drug
discovery work.
3
If we were to enter these spaces where bioinformatics takes place,
what would we observe? To give a sense of the diversity of practice, I de-
scribe fi ve scenes that typify work in these various institutional spaces.
: : :
Scene 1—Offi ce
: We enter a building housing an academic biol-
ogy department. As we climb the stairs to the second fl oor, we
pass by several wet labs where white-coated workers stand at
benches with 96-well plates, pipettes, and electrophoresis gels
arrayed messily in front of them. At the end of the hallway, how-
ever, we fi nd a different sort of space. Here everyone is dressed
casually, in jeans and T-shirts; the fl oor is carpeted, and the lab
benches have been replaced with personal computers. The work-
ers sit in front of their monitors, clicking and typing. Indeed, at
fi rst glance, the room is indistinguishable from the offi ces of a
software company or Internet start-up: workers are poring over
screens fi lled with numbers (often they are spreadsheets) and
text, sometimes examining colorful charts or graphs. This offi ce-
