Molecular Biology has made great strides in identifying the proteins and genes which make life possible. From the Human Genome Project to finding possible cures to various diseases, Molecular Biology, combined with the field of Bioinformatics,¹ has an exciting future ahead.

With the use of advanced computer technology, it is now possible to study the structure and functions of proteins in order to determine their role in maintaining the body’s homeostasis and whether any role is played in humankind’s most feared diseases. The vast amount of information which is collected from the in-depth investigations are placed in massive databases on the Internet. Some of the well-known ones are NCBI, BLAST, PubMed, and EntrezGene. With these databases at our disposal, it has become quite easy to search for any protein or gene even if all we have is a partial amino acid or nucleotide sequence. This webpage will illustrate this procedure. Please click on the “Methods” link to get a step-by-step guide.

Ó 2007 Faiz Siddiqui