Abstract
Computer science and biology have come together significantly in recent years. This trend dates back to the 1960s, with the publication of the first protein sequences, the subsequent application of information theory the first alignment algorithms in the 1970s and 1980s that culminated with its improvement and implementation in the 1990s with software such as BLAST, which became one of the most cited articles in the history of science. Already in this millennium there has been a rapid growth of large-scale sequencing projects (e.g. the Human Genome Project), as well as the widespread expansion of omics databases, e.g. with genomic, transcriptomic and metabolic information. This explosion is transforming medicine and the life sciences, whose progress is increasingly associated with a strong integration with Computer Science and Engineering, which are likely to represent, in the 21st century, a similar role to that of Mathematics in Physics of the 20th century. This talk will overview some of the progress at the interface highlighting some of the associated challenges.
Acknowledgements
This work was partially supported by the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 633974 (SOUND project), Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through IDMEC, under LAETA (UID/EMS/50022/2013), INESC-ID (UID/CEC/50021/2013), PERSEIDS (PTDC/EMS-SIS/0642/2014) and Program Investigador FCT (IF/00653/2012) from FCT, co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) through the Operational Program Human Potential (POPH).