Forum:Detailed Textbooks for bioinformatics and computational biology

Question

[adeizadavid]

Hi guys,

I am currently in a PhD program focused on bioinformatics and comp. bio. I have been going though lecture notes from notable labs here and there but i would love to get some opinion on which reliable text i can get as a good reference book. I search and most of the recommendations were given 7 to 11 years ago and since the field keeps changing i would want to get updated recommendations.

Thanks

[i.sudbery]

For bioinformatics related basic statistics, I recommend Modern Statistics for Modern Biology by Susan Holmes and Wolfgang Huber.

As well as hitting a good balance between theory and practice, it also has the benefit of being available free online (as well as to by in print)

[volvox]

Bioinformatics Algorithms is a really good book. It explains the fundamental algorithms (sequence alignment, motif finding etc) in depth with applications and examples.

[Arup Ghosh]

As a general reference book, you can get any of the following.

Bioinformatics Data Skills: Reproducible and Robust Research with Open Source Tools

The Biostar Handbook

Answer 1

[Mensur Dlakic]

I don't mean to be a stickler, but bioinformatics and computational biology are not synonymous, and I have my reservations that you are in a program that covers both fields equally. It would help us to know whether you study biological macromolecules using non-biological tools, or if you develop non-biological tools to study biology (but not necessarily only biological macromolecules).

Assuming that you study bioinformatics, here is my suggestion:

https://www.amazon.com/Bioinformatics-Functional-Genomics-Jonathan-Pevsner/dp/1118581784/