Are we related to Neanderthals? Where did SARS come from? Such questions are answered by statistical and computational analysis of genetic data, and are the vehicle for this entertaining introduction to computational genomics. The case-studies approach with Matlab demos provides an enjoyable way to learn how to analyze genomic data first-hand.

This readable and entertaining book provides a roadmap to navigate entry to the field of computational genomics in biology. It guides the reader through key achievements of bioinformatics, using a hands-on approach. Statistical sequence analysis, sequence alignment, hidden Markov models, gene and motif finding, and other topics are introduced in a rigorous yet accessible way.