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Perl Connects To Gene Expression Studies
By Doug Caverly
Staff Writer
Article Date: 2010-03-02
The dynamic programming language everyone knows and loves may play an important role in understanding how human beings - and/or all other sorts of species - work. Perl, it turns out, is being used to help people gather better data from gene expression studies.
An abstract on the subject explained the issue by stating, "Gene expression studies greatly contribute to our understanding of complex relationships in gene regulatory networks. However, the complexity of array design, production and manipulations are limiting factors, affecting data quality. The use of customized DNA microarrays improves overall data quality, however, only if for these specifically designed microarrays analysis tools are available."
And that's where Perl enters the equation. The abstract continued, "The IronChip Evaluation Package (ICEP) is a collection of Perl utilities and an easy to use data evaluation pipeline for the analysis of microarray data with a focus on data quality of custom-designed microarrays. The package has been developed for the statistical and bioinformatical analysis of the custom cDNA microarray IronChip but can be easily adapted for other cDNA or oligonucleotide-based designed microarray platforms."
So every time you hear "gene therapy" mentioned in a news story or sci-fi movie, there's at least a small possibility that Perl will be in some way responsible for whatever breakthrough technology is being discussed.
Or, if nothing else, the IronChip Evaluation Package could at least get Perl some attention in medical circles so that it will be used for other purposes.
About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news.
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