Introduction

You should do this project if…

• You would like to understand how Computer Science and biological sciences are related.
• You would like to study a health-related field in university.
• You are somewhat comfortable with Java.
• You would like to work with real-life data.

Starter Code

https://github.com/emlag/DNASequencer

Introduction

This project is designed to give you the foundations of computer science in the context of solving real and important problems in the biological sciences.

In part 1 you will read in a real DNA sequence that is meant to create a pump for a cell membrane. DNA provides a blueprint to create proteins which in turn create all the necessary parts for us to stayalive. This process involves a few steps:

1. DNA starts with one strand and that strand’s compliment, forming a two strand double helix.
2. When ready, the DNA will split apart and messenger RNA, or mRNA, will create a copy.
3. The mRNA will then travel into a ribosome, The ribosome will read in the mRNA and create
   amino acids by reading a section at a time.
4. A chain of amino acids will then form the proteins necessary.
5. Watch this video and this one.

In Part 2 you will follow a series of steps to search through a Salmonella’s DNA sequence to find specific genes and then use another tool to find out what that gene is meant to do.

Project Setup

Possible Troubleshooting