Benchmarking is a process of comparing and contrasting best existing methods to new emerging techniques and methodologies. Benchmarking in biomarker discovery is a method of setting a baseline for identification and classification of new protein and molecules profiling technologies.
Malaria is a mosquito borne blood disease, which remains a devastating global health problem. It is caused by the obligate intraerythrocytic protozoa belonging to genus Plasmodium.
In the previous article, similar gene sequences of an established mercuric ion reductase or merA gene were identified. They were studied from the NCBI database using BLAST tool. In this article, the protein sequence of merA enzyme is studied with respect to its closely related sequences found in NCBI database, through Multiple Sequence Alignment (MSA).
Quantitative studies are those that rely on measures that can be represented by discrete numbers, such as age, weight or body temperature. Epidemiological studies too can be quantitative in nature. A quantitative epidemiological study can be broadly classified as ‘observational’ or ‘experimental’. It depends upon the extent of intervention by the researcher in the subject’s exposure or actions.
In the last few decades, after the discovery of penicillin, a large number of these diseases have been controlled or eliminated. However, infectious diseases have a tendency to recur in a different population or region than before. This phenomenon is termed as emerging infectious diseases (EID).
Bioremediation helps cleaning up polluted environments, including soils, groundwater, and marine environments. Such systems can include bacteria, fungi, algae and plant species. They are capable of metabolizing, immobilizing or absorbing toxic compounds from their environment.
For allergies, the risk factors can be divided into two broad categories, host and environmental factors. The interaction of different host and environmental factors is responsible for the phenotypic expression of allergies.
Serological and molecular markers are new diagnostic approaches that offer rapid, sensitive and more accurate diagnostic results. Molecular markers are specific short sequence of DNA or RNA.