Audience for This Book

People interested in BLAST come from many disciplines including biology, chemistry, computer science, law, mathematics, medicine, physics, etc. One reason for this is that knowledge of genes and genomes is becoming increasingly useful in a variety of settings. Another reason is that bioinformatics is this century's rocket science. Researchers from many disciplines are being drawn into its fascinating and rapidly growing orbit. So if you've recently become interested in bioinformatics, understanding BLAST is a great place to start. And if you're already a bioinformatics student or professional, this book can help you get more out of BLAST.