Educating the educators: Incorporating bioinformatics into biological science education in Malaysia

Bioinformatics can be defined as a fusion of computational and biological sciences. The urgency to process and analyse the deluge of data created by proteomics and genomics studies has caused bioinformatics to gain prominence and importance. However, its multidisciplinary nature has created a unique demand for specialist trained in both biology and computing. In this review, we described the components that constitute the bioinformatics field and distinctive education criteria that are required to produce individuals with bioinformatics training. This paper will also provide an introduction and overview of bioinformatics in Malaysia. The existing bioinformatics scenario in Malaysia was surveyed to gauge its advancement and to plan for future bioinformatics education strategies. For comparison, we surveyed methods and strategies used in education by other countries so that lessons can be learnt to further improve the implementation of bioinformatics in Malaysia. It is believed that accurate and sufficient steerage from the academia and industry will enable Malaysia to produce quality bioinformaticians in the future

The role of the Internet in international collaborative research in molecular biology between Japanese and other scientists

In order to understand the role that the Internet plays in international collaborative research in molecular biology between scientists in Japan and those in other countries, an empirical study based on bibliometric study dealing with international co-authored articles and a survey for corresponding authors of the articles was conducted. As a result of the international collaborative research, the international co-authored articles increased. The influence of the Internet to the outcome was not clear: factors (e.g., existing personal networks) which initiated international collaborative research were separate from the Internet; however, information technologies relying on the Internet were recognized as important communication tools in international collaborative research and database tools which were crucial for molecular biology research. The finding indicates that the Internet as one kind of revolution of information technology is not a cause of international collaborative research; however, it is necessary technology to conduct international collaborative research