DNA Sequencing and Data Analysis

Our body is composed of billions of cells, each contains the genetic material, the DNA, the book of life. Technologies for reading the DNA (known as ‘DNA sequencers’) have been developing since the late 1970s yet only in the past decade have become more readily available. It is now possible to read DNA rapidly, accurately, and cost-effectively. This revolution is leading today’s genetic transformation yet entails several challenges such as analyzing the massive amounts of data sequenced. In this course we will learn about the biology behind the cells and the DNA they contain; how DNA sequencing began, where it is today, and where it will be tomorrow. We will understand how, with bioinformatics, the data analysis is performed, and what conclusions could be reached from reading massive amounts of DNA information.