Probabilistic Methods for Bioinformatics

Chapter 1

Probabilistic Informatics

Informatics programs in the United States go back to at least the 1980s, when Stanford University offered a Ph.D. in medical informatics. Since that time, a number of informatics programs in other disciplines have emerged at universities throughout the United States. These programs go by various names, including bioinformatics, medical informatics, chemical informatics, music informatics, marketing informatics, and so on. What do these programs have in common? To answer that question we must articulate what we mean by the term informatics. Because other disciplines are usually referenced when we discuss informatics, ...