[sus.chan6]

The course is being taught by Dr. Golding - the resident bioinformatics guy. He's a bit intimidating and sometimes he does look at you like you're stupid. But that's probably you are compared to him. He's been doing this for longer than we were born. Don't be afraid to ask questions though, because if you don't understand one thing, you'l fall behind and basically crash and burn. That's when TAs and tutorials are handy.

There's problems every week, except the week where midterms are, and speaking of midterms, there are two.

The mark break down goes like this:
Midterm1: 20%
Midterm2: 20%
Problem sets: 40%
Final Exam: 20%

This is a highly useful course if you want to do anything in your life that revolves around biological systems. There's no course ware, the book is provided to you online in PDF files. And the TAs I had were extremely helpful - Tutorials are not mandatory but I highly suggest that you go. There's a lot of math involved but don't be scared, the math is there to do just that! But as long as you understand the core concepts, which is most likely what he'll be asking you because he knows us biologists =/= mathematicians/computer scientists, you'll be fine.

It's hard, it's tricky, there's math. But in the end, you'll take a lot away from this course. Honestly, I can't rate this course high enough.

Can anyone who's taken the course recently provide a little more information?
Thanks!

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Can anyone who's taken the course recently provide a little more information?
Thanks!

He has has own website if you haven't checked it out: http://helix.biology.mcmaste r.ca/courses.html

Originally Posted by jhan523

He has has own website if you haven't checked it out: http://helix.biology.mcmaste r.ca/courses.html

Oh ok, thanks! I haven't come across it before.

can anyone provide a bit more information?
I took comp sci first year and i dropped it because i didnt understand the algorithms, is this course somewhat like comp sci or is it completely diff? thanks

The class focuses on useful databases and websites relevant to research in biology, as well as algorithms and programs for DNA/protein alignments and distance measures, plus building of phylogenetic trees etc. Everything is grounded in biology in terms of context, but you are expected to know how certain algorithms work and you'll do a few calculations with them. The class has 3 tests (1 is the "exam" but it's the same as the midterms) and a number of weekly assignments. In general the assignments are more difficult than the tests. In class, when you're covering the mathematical stuff and algorithms you may feel lost at times (I certainly did), but the tests are pretty easy. If you can manage getting 10+ in other bio courses on memorization skills alone, it's not hard to get a 10 or 11 in this class.

hey how were the tests nfor this class, i heard its all short answer. how many questions does he ask, and is there enough time to finish it in the lecture period? also what kind of questions does he ask, are the like those in the tutorials or different? also does he post the tests afterwards...cough past tests? cougch

Originally Posted by Chevalier

hey how were the tests nfor this class, i heard its all short answer. how many questions does he ask, and is there enough time to finish it in the lecture period? also what kind of questions does he ask, are the like those in the tutorials or different? also does he post the tests afterwards...cough past tests? cougch

The tests for this course (IMO) is quite difficult. The tests are all SA and they ask small details. I mean abbreviations, database names, small SMALL details. He usually asks 10-14 questions ranging from 1 to 2 marks each and there are generally enough time to finish. He does ask a few questions about the assignments on the tests and the tests are cumulative. He does not post past tests or give a lot of hints on what is on the midterms. Contrary to previous reviews, this course is not a good course at all. First of all, the content is extremely dry and boring and I would not take this course if it is not mandatory. Second of all, the contents can be useful if you are going into bioinformatics but if you just want to work in a lab, then this course is overkill... Lastly, the course content can be challenging if you dont like memorizing small details and constructing phylogenetic trees.