Dr. Elena Harris 
Department of Computer Science, 
CSU, Chico 

Dr. Harris discusses the increasing collaboration of the fields of computer science and biology to unlock the genetic mysteries ofDNA. She begins by showing a short video, “Life Inside a Cell,” which features colorful and dramatic animated images of the interior of a cell and the processes occurring inside of it. She then explains how new generation sequencing technology allows fast and inexpensive DNA sequencing, including the sequencing of DNA fragments,  the mapping of reads back to a reference genome, and analysis of the data (both methylation and nucleosome analysis). Dr. Harris also gives an example of the practical use of this technology – the study of the mechanism controlling gene expression to develop drugs to treat malaria. 

Recorded: November 1, 2013