Galaxy tool

Galaxy is an open source, web-based platform for data intensive bio medical research. It is a scientific workflow, data integration, and data and analysis persistence and publishing platform that aims to make computational biology accessible to research scientists that do not have computer programming experience. Although it was initially developed for genomics research, it is largely domain agnostic and is now used as a general bioinformatics workflow management system.

Galaxy snapshot

Galaxy is also a data integration platform for biological data. It supports data uploads from the user's computer, by URL, and directly from many online resources (such as the UCSC Genome Browser, BioMart and InterMine). Galaxy supports a range of widely used biological data formats, and translation between those formats. Galaxy provides a web interface to many text manipulation utilities, enabling researchers to do their own custom reformatting and manipulation without having to do any programming.

It provides workflows to do 

• NGS analysis
• Targeted genome analysis
• whole genome analysis
• variant discovery
• ChiP-seq Analysis
• gene expression studies
• De novo genome assembly
• SNP and Indel detection
• Genomic resequencing Variant detection

Introduction to python programming language

Python is the most powerful, ideal, flexible, easy and user friendly language to use especially in bioinformatics. It is released in 1991 by Guido Van Rossum and is named after Monty python.It is used mainly in bioinformatics because it is easy as compared to other languages and contain libraries for bioinformatics.
Python programming has object oriented programming capability but lack multithreading programming support.Apart from that keywords are case sensitive but syntax is easy as compared to other programming languages.Most important thing while writing a program is you must take care of indentation. Write program with proper indentation other wise it will give error in the output.

How to use python and write program??
Here are few steps to write program in python.
Step 1:
Install python form the web :www.python.org and install python 3.4.3
step 2:
open  IDLE(python 3.4 GUI) . A window will appear on your screen just start to write your program on it.

Python basics
Comments
In python programming language comments are written using #.
comments can be written in new line or in front of any code by using #
2a+2b   # Mathematical calculation
Variables
There is no need to declare  data type of variables in python. The type of variable is declared automatically by the type of value you are assigning to variable.
msg="hello world"
x=5
Variable names are case sensitive and they must not start with a number.
keywords
keywords in python are case sensitive and they are always in lower case.
e.g if, elif, else, and, or, in ,return, break
Operators for comparison
Comparison operators are mainly same to the operators used in other programming languages. some of the comparison operators are given below.
x==y
x!=y
x<y
x<=y
x>y
x>=y
Function definition and function calling
General syntax to define and call a function is given below.
dna= "agtggtggtcaaa"
def msg()
    print(dna)
print("program to print DNA sequence")
msg()
print("end of my program")
while writing a program take care of the indentation.
Program output
program to print DNA sequence
agtggtggtcaaa
end of my program

Bioinformatics in Pakistan

Bioinformatics has revolutionized the medical and biological fields. Being part of this modern world Pakistani Institutes are also offering degree in bioinformatics.
Some of the institutes offering degree in bioinformatics in pakistan are

• Comsats institute of Information technology islamabad (BS 4yrs)
• University of Agriculture Faisalabad (BS 4yrs)
• Centre for Emerging sciences, Engineering and technology Islamabad (BS 4yrs)
• Foundation University Islamabad (BS 4yrs)
• International Islamic university (BS hons 4yrs)
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah University (BS 4yrs)
• Baqai Medical university/Hospital Karachi (BS 4yrs)
• Goverment Post Graduate college Abbottabad (BS 4yrs)
• Al Khair university (BS 4yrs)
• Institute of information and technology Karachi (BS 4yrs)                                                                                              Apart from these institutes  few research groups are also working in collaboration with foreign institutes . 

BRG (Bioinformatics Research group)

One of the renowned institute of Pakistan Comsats institute of information technology has created a research group to work in the field of bioinformatics in collaboration with foreign institutes. 

Source : http://cub.comsats.edu.pk/