Stein was right in saying Bioinformatics is a tool,not a field...
He gave the ultimatum on the death of this field in 2003 and in Pakistan where not much NG science is taking place,this has been proved. No jobs for those who specalize in bioinformatics alone.They are considered a half-and-a-half.Not accepted into biology as not enough of a biologist and not accepted into CS disciplines as not specialist of that field.
I agree with Stein that "It is a tool and not a scientific discipline. Tools get absorbed into the greater disciplines. There are examples of disciplines defined by a problem domain contrasted with services defined by tools.
Robust scientific disciplines are often defined by a problem domain. For example, a development biologist studies the development of multicellular organisms using what ever tools are at hand. They aren't defined by the tools they use. A pharmacologist studies the interactions of chemicals with physiological properties. Similarly, physicists aren't defined by their tools; they study the nature of matter and energy.On the other hand, services are defined by tools and they are often time-limited. For example, a microscopist knows how to use microscopes. Now that a microscope is a ubiquitous tool you won't find many specialists in this area. While a pharmacologist has a problem domain, a pharmacist knows how to compound medicines and fill out regulatory paperwork. There are fields that cross over. Stein offered molecular biology as an example of a scientific discipline that has transitioned to a service.
Most of the biologists are bioinformaticians now.It is too central to biology to be left out to specialized bioinformaticians.Colleges and universities should inculcate bioinformatics in the core curriculum.
Bioinformatics was a tool (or set of tools) like microscopy, used to answer complex biological questions. "
Bioinformatics is just one way of studying biology. Whether you think of bioinformatics as High Throughput Biology, Integrative Biology, or Large Data Set Biology, fundamentally Stein argues that bioinformatics is biology.It is not strange when biologists never touch goosh: body parts, liquids.... because they're studying life. Biologists like Ernest Mayer can sit in his office and look at other people's data and develop theories of selection.
Biologists should take programming classes.
Computer has become a central tool for biology like the microscope or the centrifuge. Being able to produce your own software for data analysis should be part of the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. In answer to a related question about computational biology, Stein answered that "it is algorithm development. It is a specialized discipline. I think it's a branch of CS.
Stein has some simple advice for how you make it in bioinformatics:
I agree with Stein that "It is a tool and not a scientific discipline. Tools get absorbed into the greater disciplines. There are examples of disciplines defined by a problem domain contrasted with services defined by tools.
Robust scientific disciplines are often defined by a problem domain. For example, a development biologist studies the development of multicellular organisms using what ever tools are at hand. They aren't defined by the tools they use. A pharmacologist studies the interactions of chemicals with physiological properties. Similarly, physicists aren't defined by their tools; they study the nature of matter and energy.On the other hand, services are defined by tools and they are often time-limited. For example, a microscopist knows how to use microscopes. Now that a microscope is a ubiquitous tool you won't find many specialists in this area. While a pharmacologist has a problem domain, a pharmacist knows how to compound medicines and fill out regulatory paperwork. There are fields that cross over. Stein offered molecular biology as an example of a scientific discipline that has transitioned to a service.
Most of the biologists are bioinformaticians now.It is too central to biology to be left out to specialized bioinformaticians.Colleges and universities should inculcate bioinformatics in the core curriculum.
Bioinformatics was a tool (or set of tools) like microscopy, used to answer complex biological questions. "
Bioinformatics is just one way of studying biology. Whether you think of bioinformatics as High Throughput Biology, Integrative Biology, or Large Data Set Biology, fundamentally Stein argues that bioinformatics is biology.It is not strange when biologists never touch goosh: body parts, liquids.... because they're studying life. Biologists like Ernest Mayer can sit in his office and look at other people's data and develop theories of selection.
Biologists should take programming classes.
Computer has become a central tool for biology like the microscope or the centrifuge. Being able to produce your own software for data analysis should be part of the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. In answer to a related question about computational biology, Stein answered that "it is algorithm development. It is a specialized discipline. I think it's a branch of CS.
Stein has some simple advice for how you make it in bioinformatics:
- Learn biology. Investigate the problem domain for bioinformatics.
- Pick a problem that interests you. Don't just follow where you think the hot topic is or what seems to be an easy problem. Consider what you are willing to spend the next decade or two or the rest of your life working on.
- Know your tools. Don't treat your tools as black boxes. Understand how they work and what their limitations are. With a microscope you don't need to know optics, but you should know something about light paths, magnification, and resolution. Don't be afraid to use non-computer tools. Don't find the problems that fit your tools.
- Don't be ghettoized. If you expect to be a scientist and to be doing research then don't come in just to perform services to apply your tools to other people's problems. If you want to write software and provide a service, that's great but do so deliberately.
- Do it because you love it.
Biologists are all bioinformaticians now.
Biologists are all bioinformaticians now.
Biologists are all bioinformaticians now.
Labels:
bioinformatics,
omics
