BMB550

Functional genomics as a discipline is about finding biological meaning in large-scale genome data sets. Many technologies that generate data have contributed to the rise of functional genomics but equally important are the technologies that enable the analysis of those data.
Without the reduction in cost of computing horsepower and data storage, genomics would have been a non-starter. Here are some recent reviews of technology developments in DNA sequencing that you should read.
• http://www.genome.gov/sequencingcosts/
• http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24590/
• http://singularityhub.com/2011/03/05/costs-of-dna-sequencing-fallingfast-look-at-these-graphs/

http://www.cloud.target.maine.edu/
We will be using the Maine Innovation Cloud as a central resource for BMB550. Check out the URL and read about cloud computing.

If you use a PC, you will need an SSH client to log into the Maine Innovation Cloud. I like to use
PuTTY.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PuTTY

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1. The host name is bioclass.target.main.edu
2. You will need to use the SSH protocol.

Log in with the username and password I sent to you.
Linux is case sensitive…so “Carol” is different than “carol”.

If you use a Mac you should have an X window system as part of your system that you can use to log on to the host (bioclass.target.main.edu)

Once you log into your account on the Maine Innovation Cloud you will need to learn a bit about navigating in a Linux environment.
First read about the history of Linux. Then consult some of the guides to Linux commands to learn to do the following:
• Change your password
• Create a directory
• Navigate to that directory
• Determine the current directory
• Copy a file called rma.expr.dat that lives in /home/carol/diaphragm to your home directory
• Use the “more” command to view the contents of rma.expr.dat
Linux history
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
• http://www.ragibhasan.com/linux/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Linux
Linux commands
• http://www.reallylinux.com/docs/basic.shtml