Bioinformatics is a science that uses numbers and computers to work on problems about living things. The famous job is reading the human genome — the full set of gene information in our cells — which is far too long for a person to check by hand. People in this field write programs, store huge files of DNA letters, compare them, and look for patterns that might explain an illness or how a kind of living thing has changed.

Bioinformatics is a scienceBioinformatics是一門科學that uses numbers and computers用數字和電腦to work on problems about living things來處理跟生物有關的問題。The famous job is reading the human genome最有名的工作是解讀人類基因體the full set of gene information in our cells也就是我們細胞裡全部的基因資訊which is far too long for a person to check by hand這份資料長到人根本沒辦法用手一個一個檢查。People in this field write programs, store huge files of DNA letters, compare them這個領域的人會寫程式、儲存大量DNA字母的檔案、互相比對and look for patterns that might explain an illness or how a kind of living thing has changed並尋找可能解釋某種疾病，或某種生物如何演變的規律。

It sits between biology and computer science: a lab still grows the samples, but a lot of the hard looking happens on a screen. You will meet it in universities, hospitals, and drug companies, in a formal, scientific voice.

It sits between biology and computer science它介於生物學和電腦科學之間: a lab still grows the samples實驗室還是會培養樣本but a lot of the hard looking happens on a screen但很多困難的分析工作是在螢幕上進行的。You will meet it in universities, hospitals, and drug companies你會在大學、醫院、藥廠遇到這個字in a formal, scientific voice用的是正式的科學語氣。

Though actually, some scientists draw a line between bioinformatics (handling and comparing the data) and computational biology (building models of how life works). Other people use the two names as if they were the same. If you are starting out, treat this word as biology done with computers and maths.

Though actually, some scientists draw a line between bioinformatics不過其實，有些科學家會把bioinformatics(handling and comparing the data)（處理和比對資料）and computational biology和computational biology分開(building models of how life works)（建立生命運作模型）。Other people use the two names as if they were the same也有人把這兩個名字當成同一件事在用。If you are starting out, treat this word as biology done with computers and maths如果你才剛開始接觸，可以把這個字理解成「用電腦和數學做的生物學」。