15Quizzes
Bioinformatics
Where biology meets big data. Challenge yourself with our bioinformatics quizzes. Test your understanding of sequence alignment (BLAST), phylogenetics, NGS data, and the crucial databases that power modern biological research.
NGS Platforms & Library Prep
How Illumina and Nanopore sequencing work: library preparation, adapters, paired-end reads, coverage depth and the file formats NGS produces.
Introduction to Sequence Alignment
Test your basic knowledge of pairwise alignment, dot plots, and the difference between global and local alignment.
Systems Biology & Network Analysis
Focuses on Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) networks, metabolic pathways, and network topology (degree, centrality).
Biological Databases & File Formats
A foundational quiz on NCBI, EBI, and Uniprot, as well as common formats like FASTA, FASTQ, SAM/BAM, and VCF.
Transcriptomics & RNA-Seq Analysis
Master the workflow of RNA-Seq: from normalization (TPM, FPKM) to differential gene expression analysis.
Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution
Test your understanding of tree construction methods like UPGMA, Neighbor-Joining, Maximum Likelihood, and Bayesian inference.
Heuristic Search: BLAST & FASTA
How do we search massive databases? Covers k-tuples, E-values, bit scores, and the different flavors of BLAST.
Dynamic Programming: Needleman-Wunsch & Smith-Waterman
A deep dive into the mathematical algorithms behind optimal sequence alignment, scoring matrices, and gap penalties.
Structural Bioinformatics & Protein Modeling
Covers PDB files, secondary structure prediction, homology modeling, and protein-ligand docking basics.
Machine Learning in Bioinformatics
Test your knowledge on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs), Support Vector Machines (SVMs), and Neural Networks in genomics.
BLAST & Sequence Homology
The principles behind BLAST and sequence homology.
Intro to Bioinformatics
What is bioinformatics and what is it used for?
Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)
Concepts of genome assembly and RNA-Seq analysis.
Biological Databases
Understanding NCBI, GenBank, and PDB.
Phylogenetic Tree Construction
Methods like UPGMA and Neighbor-Joining.
Articles
Read About Bioinformatics
Long-form articles on the same ground as these quizzes.
- FASTA, FASTQ, BAM and VCF: Bioinformatics File Formats ExplainedBioinformatics40 min read
- How to Read a Volcano Plot: Fold Change, P-Values and FDR ExplainedBioinformatics29 min read
- AlphaFold 3 to IsoDDE: How AI Drug Discovery Got Twice as Accurate in 18 MonthsResearch Insights5 min read
- What Can You Do With a Biology Degree? Career Paths and the Skills Each One NeedsCareer Guidance26 min read
Dictionary
Key Bioinformatics Terms
Plain definitions, with how to say each word and where it comes from.
- Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the science of using computers to gather, store, analyze and share biological data, especially DNA, RNA and protein sequences.
- BLAST
BLAST is a widely used program that searches databases for DNA or protein sequences similar to a query and ranks the matches by statistical significance.
- FASTA format
FASTA format is a plain-text format for DNA, RNA or protein sequences in which each record starts with a header line beginning with > followed by the sequence.
- GenBank
GenBank is the public database of DNA and RNA sequences run by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information, with annotated records free to use.
- Multiple sequence alignment
A multiple sequence alignment lines up three or more DNA, RNA or protein sequences so that positions sharing an evolutionary origin fall in one column.
- Needleman–Wunsch algorithm
The Needleman–Wunsch algorithm is a dynamic programming method that finds the best-scoring global alignment of two sequences along their entire length.
Career
Where Bioinformatics Leads
Careers that use it: what each job is, how people get in and what it pays.
- Bioinformatician
Uses programming and statistics to make sense of biological data, from DNA sequences and gene expression to protein structures.
- Data Scientist
Turns large, messy datasets into answers, using programming, statistics and machine learning to find patterns and build predictive models.
- Biostatistician
Applies statistics to questions in biology and medicine, from designing clinical trials to analysing the data that shows whether a treatment works.
- Clinical Data Manager
Makes sure the data collected in clinical trials is complete, accurate and ready for analysis, from the first patient to the final database.
- Geneticist
Studies how genes are passed on and how changes in DNA shape traits and disease, in people, animals, plants or microbes.
Research
Calculators for Bioinformatics
Free, with the formula and a worked example for each.
- ORF Finder
Every open reading frame in all six frames, with its position, length and protein, from ATG or any start codon.
- GC Content Calculator
GC content, base counts, length and molecular weight of a DNA or RNA sequence, with GC along the sequence in a sliding window.
- Reverse Complement
The reverse complement, complement or reverse of a DNA or RNA sequence, or DNA written as RNA, from bare letters or FASTA.
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