Computational Biology Session Task Portal 03
Computational Biology – Task Portal 03
Study Material, Practical Activities & Assignments
Welcome to Computational Biology – Task Portal 03
Welcome to the next stage of your Computational Biology Internship.
This portal contains five beginner-friendly learning and practical activities designed to help you understand how computational methods are applied to real biological problems.
You do not need advanced programming knowledge to complete these activities. Focus on understanding the concepts, performing the suggested research, and preparing your assignments in your own words.
🧬 Computational Biology – Portal 03 Learning Update
Portal 03 focuses on the connection between biological concepts and computational analysis.
In this portal, you will learn:
- How biological data is represented and analyzed computationally.
- How to retrieve and compare DNA/protein sequences.
- How protein structure can be studied using online resources.
- How evolutionary relationships can be represented using phylogenetic trees.
- How to design a simple computational biology workflow.
- How to communicate computational results through a scientific report.
These tasks are currently provided in study-material and practical-activity format. Follow the instructions under each task and submit your completed work through the official internship submission form.
TASK 1: Introduction to Biological Data & Computational Biology
Understand what Computational Biology is and how computers are used to solve biological and biomedical problems.
Topics to Study
- What is Computational Biology?
- Difference between Computational Biology and Bioinformatics.
- Types of biological data.
- DNA sequence data.
- RNA sequence data.
- Protein sequence data.
- Genome data.
- Protein structure data.
- Biological databases.
- Role of programming and computational tools in biology.
- Applications in medicine, genetics, drug discovery and biotechnology.
Select one biological problem where computational methods can be useful. For example:
- Finding disease-associated genes
- Studying mutations
- Drug discovery
- Protein structure prediction
- Genome analysis
- Evolutionary analysis
“Role of Computational Biology in Modern Biological Research”
Explain at least three applications of Computational Biology and describe how computational approaches can help researchers.
- Study notes
- Selected biological problem
- Assignment report
📂 Task Submission
Submit Task 1TASK 2: DNA & Protein Sequence Analysis
Learn the basic properties of DNA and protein sequences and understand how computational sequence analysis can reveal useful biological information.
Topics to Study
- DNA sequence and nucleotide bases.
- A, T, G and C nucleotides.
- RNA sequence and U instead of T.
- Protein sequences and amino acids.
- FASTA format.
- Sequence length.
- GC content.
- Codons and translation.
- Open Reading Frames (ORFs).
- Basic sequence comparison.
Select a short DNA sequence from a publicly available biological database or use a suitable example sequence.
- Record the DNA sequence.
- Calculate or identify its sequence length.
- Count the number of A, T, G and C bases.
- Calculate the approximate GC percentage.
- Identify the complementary DNA sequence.
- Explain what would happen if the DNA sequence contains a mutation.
Create a simple table containing:
- Sequence ID
- Organism
- Sequence length
- A count
- T count
- G count
- C count
- GC percentage
Write a short conclusion explaining what you learned from the sequence.
- Selected sequence
- Sequence analysis table
- Calculation/workings
- Short conclusion
📂 Task Submission
Submit Task 2TASK 3: Protein Structure & Function Exploration
Understand the relationship between protein sequence, protein structure and biological function.
Topics to Study
- What are proteins?
- Amino acids and protein sequences.
- Primary protein structure.
- Secondary protein structure.
- Alpha helices and beta sheets.
- Tertiary structure.
- Quaternary structure.
- Protein folding.
- Relationship between structure and function.
- Introduction to the Protein Data Bank (PDB).
Choose one well-known protein such as hemoglobin, insulin, lysozyme or another protein of your choice.
- Find its biological function.
- Identify the organism from which it originates.
- Find its protein sequence or structure information.
- Identify its approximate size.
- Research its known biological role.
- Find one interesting fact about the protein.
Prepare a one-page report titled:
“Relationship Between Protein Structure and Biological Function”
Include a simple labeled diagram showing the levels of protein structure.
- Protein selected
- Protein information
- Structure diagram
- Research notes
- One-page report
📂 Task Submission
Submit Task 3TASK 4: Introduction to Phylogenetic Analysis
Understand how sequence information can be used to study evolutionary relationships between organisms.
Topics to Study
- What is evolution?
- What is phylogenetics?
- Homologous sequences.
- Sequence similarity and evolutionary relationships.
- Multiple sequence alignment.
- Phylogenetic trees.
- Nodes, branches and leaves.
- Clades.
- Distance-based concepts.
- Applications of phylogenetic analysis.
Select a group of 4–5 related organisms. For example, select different species from the same biological group.
- List the selected organisms.
- Find one common gene or protein studied across these organisms.
- Research why the gene/protein can be useful for comparison.
- Find or draw a simple evolutionary relationship tree.
- Label the organisms on the tree.
Prepare a simple phylogenetic tree and write approximately 300 words explaining:
- Which organisms were selected?
- Which gene/protein was considered?
- What does the tree represent?
- Which organisms appear more closely related?
- Why are phylogenetic trees useful?
- Organism list
- Gene/protein information
- Phylogenetic tree
- Interpretation
- Assignment
📂 Task Submission
Submit Task 4TASK 5: Mini Computational Biology Research Project
Apply the concepts learned in the previous four tasks to design a small computational biology research activity and present the findings in a simple scientific format.
Review These Concepts
- Biological databases
- DNA and protein sequences
- Sequence analysis
- Protein structure
- Phylogenetics
- Biological interpretation
- Scientific reporting
Select one of the following beginner-friendly projects:
- Option A: Comparative analysis of two DNA sequences.
- Option B: Research-based analysis of a disease-associated gene.
- Option C: Study of one protein and its biological function.
- Option D: Comparison of a gene/protein across different organisms.
- Option E: Simple research on how Computational Biology is used in drug discovery.
Select Biological Question
↓
Collect Biological Information
↓
Analyze / Compare Data
↓
Interpret Results
↓
Prepare Scientific Report
Your report should contain:
- Title
- Introduction
- Research Question
- Materials / Data Source
- Method / Approach
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- References
Create either:
- One-page infographic, OR
- 3–5 presentation slides, OR
- A clearly formatted research summary.
- Mini-project report
- Data/source information
- Analysis or research work
- Figures/tables/diagrams where applicable
- Final presentation or infographic
📂 Final Task Submission
Submit your completed mini-project and supporting material through the official internship submission form.
Submit Task 5📊 Portal 03 Completion Checklist
- Complete all five tasks independently.
- Use your own words when preparing assignments.
- Do not copy complete reports from websites or other students.
- Keep screenshots and research references where applicable.
- Clearly mention the source of biological data used in your work.
- Make sure all submitted documents are readable.
- Submit your work through the official submission form.
- If you have difficulty understanding a task, contact your mentor/team.
⏱ Estimated completion time: 5 working days per portal.