Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8. Pattern Matching
Human Transthyretin (Prealbumin), PDB entry 1BMZ. Image produced with PDB
Structure Explorer.
Do not be desirous of having things done quickly. Do not look at small advantages.
Desiring to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at
small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished
—
Confucius
Automated pattern matching—the ability of a program to compare novel and known patterns and
determine the degree of similarity—forms the basis for automated sequence analysis, modeling of
protein structures, locating homologous genes, data mining, Internet search engines, and dozens of
other activities in bioinformatics. Some of the key bioinformatics applications of pattern recognition
and matching—often referred to as simply pattern matching—are listed in
Table 8-1
. For example, as
explored in
Chapter 7
, "Data Mining," data mining relies on heuristic and algorithmic pattern
matching to locate patterns in online and local databases, using a variety of technologies, from
simple keyword matching to rule-based expert systems and artificial neural networks.
