Statistical methods in bioinformatics : an introduction / Warren J. Ewens, Gregory R. Grant

The aim of this book is to give an introductory account of some probability theory, statistics, and stochastic process theory appropriate to computational biology and bioinformatics. It enables to fill a gap in the literature concerning the statistical and probabilistic aspects of bioinformatics. The earlier chapters introduce the concepts of probability and statistics at an elementary level whereas the later chapters are immediately accessible to the trained statistician. The special attention is paid to material of interest in bioinformatics (e.g. extreme value theory, moment-generating functions, geometric random variables, information theory and entropy). So far as statistical theory is concerned, the focus is on discrete random variables, since (especially with DNA and protein sequences) these variables are more relevant to bioinformatics. Sufficient mathematical background consists of basic courses in calculus and linear algebra. The biological concepts that are used are explained or can be understood from the context. (Zentralblatt)

Bibliogr. p. 449-461. Index