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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Finding Hidden Messages in DNA (Bioinformatics I) by University of California San Diego

4.3
stars
1,015 ratings

About the Course

Named a top 50 MOOC of all time by Class Central! This course begins a series of classes illustrating the power of computing in modern biology. Please join us on the frontier of bioinformatics to look for hidden messages in DNA without ever needing to put on a lab coat. In the first half of the course, we investigate DNA replication, and ask the question, where in the genome does DNA replication begin? We will see that we can answer this question for many bacteria using only some straightforward algorithms to look for hidden messages in the genome. In the second half of the course, we examine a different biological question, when we ask which DNA patterns play the role of molecular clocks. The cells in your body manage to maintain a circadian rhythm, but how is this achieved on the level of DNA? Once again, we will see that by knowing which hidden messages to look for, we can start to understand the amazingly complex language of DNA. Perhaps surprisingly, we will apply randomized algorithms, which roll dice and flip coins in order to solve problems. Finally, you will get your hands dirty and apply existing software tools to find recurring biological motifs within genes that are responsible for helping Mycobacterium tuberculosis go "dormant" within a host for many years before causing an active infection....

Top reviews

JL

Jul 29, 2018

This course is very very good. Challenging at times. It does not hold your hand at all times and sometimes requires research to solve some of the problems, but I like the community and the approach.

SH

Apr 6, 2020

Excellent introduction to bioinformatics. They put a lot of heart and thought into the design of the course. I will continue to use the concepts I've learned in and out of bioinformatics.

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201 - 225 of 257 Reviews for Finding Hidden Messages in DNA (Bioinformatics I)

By Barby S

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Jan 19, 2022

NOT FOR BEGGINNERS!!!

Excellent material and teachers. I can't follow them

By TeriLynn S

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Jul 9, 2018

The two platform format is quite complex. But the material is excellent!

By Jack C

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Jan 5, 2020

The course was very informative, but at points it was very confusing.

By Aditya B

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Aug 5, 2016

Very well explained for both biologists and computer scientists.

By 정문필

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May 7, 2020

Best lecture to dive into Bioinformatics first time!

By Iqra A

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Aug 3, 2020

Not made for a biologist but for a programming man.

By Shiv H

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Sep 28, 2018

Good Course but at times difficult to understand.

By Nikhil Y

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Apr 19, 2020

it was an amazing course!!

By Meng Z

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Mar 4, 2019

The course is great!

By Raja A A

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Dec 16, 2023

Full of knowledge

By Vipin S K

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Sep 11, 2024

good

By Shiyamaladevi R S 2

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Nov 4, 2021

.

By Todd T

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Nov 9, 2017

E

By Alejandro M H

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Apr 25, 2022

I liked this course more years ago, when I agreed without the possibility of having a certificate. Today I register it to have the certificate and I am surprised how much it has changed. Many videos were removed and you practically depend on reading the material on Stepik. Perhaps the biggest problem is the lack of clarity of the pseudocodes and the disaster of having to wait for someone to review your assignment to complete the course. It is unbelievable that in 2022 that will be a limitation to obtain the certificate.

By Evgeny T

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Feb 9, 2017

To be completely honest, I was expecting more from this course. One big setback is that the course material does not really go into biochemical fundamentals of what is going on, and instead jumps straight into algorithms. This might work for someone with enough background in biology who needs to learn to code. I, on the other side, have already had some exposure to software development and algorithms, but when Pavel mentions gene expression and transcription I have a very vague idea what he is talking about.

By Zhuoxi Y

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May 3, 2021

The difficulty of this course is not at all beginners from a biologist's perspective. The difficulty of this course increases drastically from week 1 to week 2. I kindly suggest that the course coordinator to review the content as some students have pointed out that there are certain errors here and there in the stepik tool's content. Another point is that certain terminology presented in stepik are quite poorly explained.

By Wesley R

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Oct 11, 2020

Course was easy to follow and the explanations made sense from the instructors about half the time. The other half, the coding sections and pseudocode would be horribly confusing. The sections about random motif finding and gibbs sampling were particularly frustrating. I would say some coding experience is necessary to do well in this course in a reasonable timeframe.

By Hugo A M A

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Jun 11, 2020

It´s too dificult. It says that this course is for beginners, and during the course they assume that we know Python or any other programming language. I passed the first week of bioinformatics 1, but I gave up with the second week. I recommend first doing the course "Biology meets programming".

By Hanna A

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Jun 17, 2021

Die Inhalte waren verständlich und gut strukturiert, jedoch braucht man Vorkenntnisse bezüglich des Programmierens, da dies nicht wirklich erklärt, aber für die Honors-Aufgaben vorausgesetzt werden. Der Pseudocode ist leider keine Hilfe dabei.

By Paula T I P

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Apr 19, 2020

You need an intermediate/advanced level in programming to be able to do the honours track, if you can't do it the course is completely useless because you can only read about how to code without being able to do the coding.

By Antonio H

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Apr 6, 2022

The course says that anyone can participate without knowing programming, but since the first module is necessary to use some language programming to complete the tasks; learn the biologic lessons is not enough.

By YG F

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Aug 20, 2021

I have to quit in w3. Algorithms are important in this field, but I failed to find the passion to solve these pure mathematical problems if they're already done by smart people.

By Osi A

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Apr 28, 2020

An interesting course that i would have love to study but with no computer programming knowledge, studying this course has been very difficult and not encouraging

By Maria J E C

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Apr 4, 2023

It's hard to finish some tasks. There is no theoretical or practical basis in the resources to understand well some of the themes

By Zarif H

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Jul 29, 2020

I strongly suggest anyone who opts to attend this course to have solid python fundamentals (or Java, Javascript, C, etc).