BOL: Related items

ICGEB Bioinformatics Job

Sat, 23 Jan 2021 21:01:55 -0600

The following vacancies are available in the various ongoing bioinformatics projects at.
Translational Bioinformatics Group (https://www.icgeb.org/dinesh-gupta/), ICGEB, New Delhi, India. Shortlisted candidates will be welcomed for an on-line interview at ICGEB. Only the chosen applicants will be informed individually. Preference will be given to the applicants with experience related to Bioinformatics as well as Computational area.

Interested applicants must submit their complete, updated Curriculum Vitae, mentioning details of two references as well as various other details at – http://14.139.62.220/survey/index.php/2021/01/21/icgeb-dbt-project-vacancy/

The last date of submission of applications is January 31st, 2021.

Research Associate : PhD. Degree in Computational Biology/Bioinformatics.

Consolidated Salary: 58280/- pm (including HRA).

More at https://www.icgeb.org/project-positions-translational-bioinformatics-group/ and https://www.icgeb.org/category/vacancies/

Bioinformatics Scientist, Production Bioinformatics @ South San Francisco, CA

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 08:45:24 -0500

wist is looking for a Bioinformatics Scientist to join our Production Bioinformatics Team. You will work alongside research scientists, software engineers and data scientists to further deliver on our mission to expand access to best-in-class synthetic biology and next-generation sequencing applications. You will be developing and engineering tools to better evaluate and build hardened, production quality pipelines, optimize data quality, and automate lab and bioinformatics processes. Our ideal candidate is an organized problem solver with a background in developing and building novel production-quality bioinformatics tools and packages. Equally excellent communication skills and a proven ability to work independently are required.

More at https://boards.greenhouse.io/twistbioscience/jobs/3135495?gh_src=9ecc0b941us

A Beginner's Guide to Using Kraken for Taxonomic Classification

Neel — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 11:29:03 -0600

Kraken is a popular bioinformatics tool designed for fast and accurate taxonomic classification of metagenomic sequences. Its efficiency and precision make it a go-to resource for analyzing microbial communities, including bacteria, viruses, archaea, and fungi. Whether you're new to bioinformatics or experienced in the field, Kraken is an indispensable tool for taxonomic analysis.

In this blog, we’ll walk through the basics of Kraken, from installation to running an analysis, and highlight its key features and applications.

What is Kraken?

Kraken is a sequence classification tool that assigns taxonomic labels to DNA sequences using exact k-mer matching. It uses a reference database of genomes, dividing sequences into k-mers and identifying matches in a computationally efficient way.

Key Features of Kraken

Speed: Kraken processes data much faster than alignment-based methods.
Accuracy: It uses a precise k-mer matching algorithm for high-resolution taxonomic assignments.
Scalability: It can handle large metagenomic datasets.
Custom Databases: You can build and use custom databases tailored to your research needs.

Installing Kraken

System Requirements
- A Unix-based operating system (Linux/macOS).
- Sufficient computational resources for database building (RAM and disk space).
Installation Steps
- Clone the Kraken repository from GitHub:
  
  git clone https://github.com/DerrickWood/kraken.git cd kraken
- Compile the Kraken binaries:
  
  make
- Add Kraken to your PATH for easy access:
  
  export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/kraken

Preparing a Database

Kraken requires a database of reference genomes. You can use a pre-built database or create a custom one.

Downloading a Pre-built Database
Kraken offers pre-built databases, such as the MiniKraken database, which is lightweight and suitable for smaller datasets. Download it using:

kraken-build --download-library minikraken
Building a Custom Database
To include specific genomes, download FASTA files and build the database:

kraken-build --download-library bacteria --threads 4 --db my_database kraken-build --build --db my_database

This process may take considerable time and resources, depending on the size of the database.

Running Kraken

Once the database is ready, you can classify sequences.

Basic Usage
Use the following command to classify sequences:

kraken --db my_database --threads 4 --fastq-input input_sequences.fastq --output kraken_output.txt

Key options:
- --db: Specifies the database.
- --threads: Number of threads for parallel processing.
- --fastq-input: Indicates input file format (FASTQ/FASTA).
Interpreting Results
Kraken generates an output file with columns for sequence IDs, taxonomic classifications, and the confidence score.

Visualizing Kraken Results

Kraken results can be visualized using tools like Krona or converted to human-readable reports using kraken-report.

Generate a Report

kraken-report --db my_database kraken_output.txt > kraken_report.txt
Krona Visualization
Install Krona and convert Kraken output for visualization:

cut -f2,3 kraken_output.txt | ktImportTaxonomy -o krona_output.html

Open the HTML file in your browser to interactively explore the taxonomic classifications.

Advanced Usage

Confidence Thresholds
Adjust the confidence threshold for classification using the --confidence option. Higher values reduce false positives but may miss some true positives:

kraken --db my_database --confidence 0.1 --fastq-input input.fastq
Paired-End Reads
For paired-end sequencing data, use:

kraken --db my_database --paired reads_1.fastq reads_2.fastq
Customizing K-mers
Kraken allows you to set custom k-mer lengths during database building for specific applications.

Applications of Kraken

Microbial Ecology: Characterizing microbial communities in soil, water, and the human microbiome.
Pathogen Detection: Identifying pathogens in clinical samples.
Fungal Research: Analyzing fungal diversity in metagenomic datasets.
Environmental Monitoring: Tracking microbial populations in diverse habitats.

Conclusion

Kraken is a versatile and efficient tool for taxonomic classification in metagenomics. Its speed, accuracy, and flexibility make it a favorite among bioinformaticians. By following this guide, you can set up and use Kraken to unlock insights into microbial and fungal communities, paving the way for discoveries in ecology, medicine, and biotechnology.

Check Linux server configuration !!

Rahul Nayak — Tue, 06 May 2014 01:10:57 -0500

Bioinformatician uses servers for computational analysis. Sometime we need to check the server details before running our programs or tools. Here I am showing some basic commands using them you can gather the system/server information.

To check what version of Operating System is installed on the server you can use the following commands:-
=================================================================
1.cat /etc/issue
[root@localhost ~]# cat /etc/issue
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 5.5 (Tikanga)
Kernel \r on an \m

2.cat /etc/redhat-release
[root@localhost ~]# cat /etc/redhat-release
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 5.5 (Tikanga)

3.lsb_release -a
[root@localhost ~]# lsb_release -a
LSB Version:    :core-3.1-ia32:core-3.1-noarch:graphics-3.1-ia32:graphics-3.1-noarch
Distributor ID: RedHatEnterpriseServer
Description:    Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 5.5 (Tikanga)
Release:        5.5
Codename:       Tikanga

To check whether the operating system is 32 or 64bit:-
================================
# uname -i
[root@localhost ~]# uname -i
i386
(i386 represents that server is having 32bit operating system)

[root@localhost ~]# uname -i
x86_64
(x86_64 represents that server is having 64bit operating system)

To see the processor/CPU information:-
=============================
# cat /proc/cpuinfo
[root@localhost ~] cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor       : 0
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 15
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU            5130 @ 2.00GHz
stepping        : 6
cpu MHz         : 1995.087
cache size      : 4096 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 0
cpu cores       : 2
apicid          : 0
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 10
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc pni monitor ds_cpl vmx tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr lahf_lm
bogomips        : 3990.17
(Here processor number 0 indicates that the system is having one process(processor number starts with zero))

To check memory information:-
===========================
# free -m
[root@localhost ~]# free -m
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:          5066       3513       1552          0        612       2319
-/+ buffers/cache:        582       4484
Swap:         1983          0       1983

# cat /proc/meminfo
[root@localhost ~]# cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal:      5187752 kB
MemFree:       1639300 kB
Buffers:        627024 kB
Cached:        2374944 kB
SwapCached:          0 kB
Active:        2458788 kB
Inactive:       920964 kB
HighTotal:     4325164 kB
HighFree:      1561936 kB
LowTotal:       862588 kB
LowFree:         77364 kB
SwapTotal:     2031608 kB
SwapFree:      2031608 kB
Dirty:             704 kB
Writeback:           0 kB
AnonPages:      377892 kB
Mapped:          35328 kB
Slab:           153036 kB
PageTables:       6316 kB
NFS_Unstable:        0 kB
Bounce:              0 kB
CommitLimit:   4625484 kB
Committed_AS:   977132 kB
VmallocTotal:   116728 kB
VmallocUsed:      4492 kB
VmallocChunk:   112124 kB
HugePages_Total:     0
HugePages_Free:      0
HugePages_Rsvd:      0
Hugepagesize:     2048 kB

To check the model and serial name of the server:-
=======================================
[root@localhost ~]# dmidecode | egrep -i "product name|Serial number"
Product Name: PowerEdge R710
Serial Number: AB8CDE1


To check the host name:-
=====================
[root@localhost ~]# uname -n
localhost

[root@localhost ~]# hostname
localhost

To check the kernel version:-
========================
[root@localhost ~]# uname -r
2.6.18-238.9.1.el5PAE

Monitor running jobs on Linux server

Jitendra Narayan — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 16:18:43 -0500

You as a bioinformatican run lots of program on your servers. Sometime the shared server is also used by your colleague. If server is busy you sometime need to check the running programs and want to monitor the running programs as well. The "top" command will come in handy when you need to find out if things are still running, how long they’ve been running, or how much memory is being used.

‘top’ is very simple to run: type

%% top

You’ll get a screen that looks like this, and is updated regularly:

Simple, right? Heh.

First! Note that you can use ‘q’ or ‘CTRL-C’ to exit from ‘top’.

Now let’s read and understand at each line independently.

The first line:

top - 23:00:48 up 39 days, 2 user, load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00

The first line tells you the current time, how long the machine has been up, how many users are logged in, and the short/medium/long-term compute load on the machine. If you run something for a long time, you’ll see these numbers go up. Right now, the machine is basically just sitting there, so these are all close to 0.

The second line:

Tasks: 239 total,   1 running, 238 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie

This line tells you how many processes are running. If you are using laptops machines it’s not so interesting because you really are the only one using this machine.

Cpu(s): 0.0%us, 0.0%sy, 0.0%ni,100.0%id, 0.0%wa, 0.0%hi, 0.0%si, 0.0%st

This line contains the CPU load. The first two numbers are how busy the system is doing computation (“us” stands for “user”) and how busy the system is doing system-y things like accessing disks or network (“sy” stands for “system”). We’ll talk more about this later.

Mem:   49457320k total,    3492174k used, 14535596k free,    1435148k buffers

This should be easy to understand – how much memory you’re using!

Swap:   539356k total,   28332k used,   836562k free,    29862014k cached

Swap is just on-disk memory that can be used to “swap” out programs from main memory. Again, we’ll talk about this later.:

PID USER      PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM    TIME+ COMMAND
1 root      39 19 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0   246:57.22 kipmi0
2 root      RT   0     0    0    0 S 0.0 0.0   0:00.00 migration/0

And... finally! What’s actually running! The two most important numbers are the %CPU and %MEM towards the right, as well as the COMMAND. This tells you how compute- and memory-intensive your program is. Right now, nothing’s running so the numbers aren’t very interesting, but just wait until we run something...

XAMPP: Starting Apache fail Ubuntu

Ram Yash Pal — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 05:52:35 -0500

Once you install XAMMP on linux, the most common problem you face is Apache failure. To fix the issues please use following command to first stop and then again start it.

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 stop

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop

sudo /etc/init.d/proftpd stop

sudo /opt/lampp/lampp start

PhpMyAdmin “Wrong permissions on configuration file, should not be world writable!”

Once the Xammp is installed, it might be possible to set up the configuration file in writable mode. Try the following steps:

Just chmod 0755 the file

sudo chmod 0755 config.inc.php

Assistant Professor at GAUHATI UNIVERSITY, GUWAHATI

Tue, 16 Dec 2014 01:15:30 -0600

Advt. No.T/2014/4

Ref. No. GU/Estt/T/308(VI)/2014/6451-61

Applications are invited from the Indian citizens for five (5) teaching posts of Assistant Professor (Contractual) under various departments of Gauhati University. Details of the advertisement, other terms and conditions and the application forms are available in the University website www.gauhati.ac.in

Asstt. Professor (Contractual)

2. M.Sc. Microbiology Course in Botany

3 1.M.Sc. Microbiology/M.Sc. Botany (Specialization in Microbiology)/M.Sc. Biochemistry (1 post). (Preference will be given to candidates having experience in Biochemistry).

2.M.Sc. Microbiology/M.Sc. Botany (Specialization in Microbiology)/M.Sc. Biotechnology(1 post). (Preference will be given to candidates having experience in Bioinformatics).

3.M.Sc. Microbiology/M.Sc. Botany (Specialization in Microbiology)/M.Sc. Biotechnology(1 post). (Preference will be given to candidates having experience in Microbial Genetics).

As per UGC norms

Pay Band & Academic Grade Pay : (Consolidated pay) : Rs. 21,600/- per month

Application Form : Prescribe application form may download from the G.U. website www.gauhati.ac.in

Last date of receipt of filled-in application is 08.01.2015.

Advertisement: www.gauhati.ac.in/openfile.php?file=Notice1258.pdf

Bioinformatics PhD / PostDoc / Job Rejection

Jit — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 08:52:46 -0500

While your PhD or PostDoc application, it is more common that you got rejected by many professors. Don't disappoint reply it calmly.

In grad school, I shared a house with three Bioinformatics PhD students. One, when he applied to a particular professor, received a letter that said, essentially, "If you are applying because you want to enrich yourself, great. If you are applying because you want a job, you should know that you won't get one." I am trying to tell you this is because if you, with a good background in Bioinformatics, are passing up opportunities, you must be a strong candidate in many areas. Enrich yourself.

So, my suggestion is take a deep breath, forgot about all. Don’t take it personally. It's been usual processes while hunting for a good lab and professor. Take is positive, I am not sure why they reject, but don't worry perhaps the lab don't deserve you. Always remember there are billions of reasons not to hire someone for projects, especially in a research sector.

My suggestion, please do not whine about how you were a great research candidate for the post, and you just can't understand why they were so stupid as to have rejected you! This feeling will not win you any points in research, community. Especially, when in todays socially connected era everyone is linked. Remember, a nice E-mail saying, "I really wished to working with you on this project and I hope we cross paths again," is all you need to send to the professor. Send a thank you note to the professor. Thank them for the time they spend to judge you. In the future, If you and the professor (of your dream) are attending a bioinformatics conference, invite him/her to lunch (please remember to pay the bill). In today evolving scientific ere, always remember to build your solid network in order to get a job of interest. Join all possible networking sites like LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Acamedia, FB for the same reason. You as a researcher always build a bridge with student/researcher/colleague/professor who have the research potential to lead in research and hire you. Just because you didn't get this project, doesn't mean there isn't another that will open up in couple of month.

Mostly, jobs that are hard to get are hard to get. Only you can decide if the continued sacrifices are worth the expected payout. If it is, keep on plowing. Build relationships. Attend conferences.

Image ref @ JaSonYa

Professor (all levels) in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Tue, 22 Nov 2016 05:43:38 -0600

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) (kaust.edu.sa) is seeking a highly motivated and skilled faculty member for the Bioinformatics track whose research focuses on development of methods and tools for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.
KAUST is an international, graduate-level research university dedicated to advancing science and technology through interdisciplinary research, education, and innovation. Located on the shores of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, KAUST offers superb research facilities, generous assured research funding, and internationally competitive salaries, attracting top international faculty, scientists, engineers, and students to conduct fundamental and goal-oriented research to address the world’s pressing scientific and technological challenges in the areas of food, water, energy, and the environment.
The successful applicant is expected to develop world-leading research in domain of bioinformatics/computational biology with focus on development of novel computational approaches for efficient and accurate methods of analyzing biological phenomena at molecular level. The faculty member will be part of the Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC) within the Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering (CEMSE) Division. The position will remain open until filled.

Requirements:

PhD or equivalent in a Computer Science, Mathematics or Engineering discipline. Candidates should be well-established within the research field relevant to the position grade. They should demonstrate original research and experience at the highest international level.

Responsibilities and tasks:

Research competence in the following areas is preferred:
Analysis of next generation sequencing (NGS) and other ‘omics’ data (e.g. CAGE, ChIP-Seq, DHS, RNA-Seq, Ribo-Seq, proteomic, metabolic and NMR spectra, etc.).
Signaling, regulatory and metabolic pathways analysis.
Development of tools (web-based and standalone) suited for efficient computational biology/bioinformatics.

Visit cemse.kaust.edu.sa to apply.

Bioinformatics walk-in-interview at Tezpur University

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 04:24:46 -0600

A walk-in-interview will be held on 09 March, 2017, 11.15 a.m. at the office of the Head, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Tezpur University for one (01) temporary position of Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in the DBT, Govt. of India sponsored project entitled “Integrating genome scale metabolic analysis of model plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum with RNAseq and fluxomics” under Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Satapathy (ssankar@tezu.ernet.in), Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Tezpur University.

Interested candidates may appear before the interview board with original documents from 10th standard onwards and photocopies of mark sheets, certificates, testimonials, caste certificate (if applicable), experience certificate certificates of NET/GATE/BET or similar examination qualifications, any other testimonials and a copy of recent curriculum vitae (CV) on the day of interview.

Essential qualification: M.Tech. in CSE/IT (With specialization in Computational Biology/Bioinformatics) or M.Sc. in Bioinformatics/Biosciences/Molecular Biology Biotechnology preferably with NET/GATE/BET.

Candidates should have minimum 55 % mark both in 10th and 10+2 Science examinations and mathematics at 10+2 Science.

Desirable: Preference will be given to the candidates having experience in computational analysis of genome sequences or similar projects.

Remuneration: Rs. 25,000/- (Rupees twenty five thousand) only + HRA as admissible per month for the 1st two years and Rs. 28,000/- (Rupees twenty eight thousand) only + HRA as admissible per month for the 3rd year for SRF and applicable to the candidate having post graduate degree in Basic Science with NET/GATE/BET qualification or post graduate degree in professional course. Rs. 12,000/- (Rupees twelve thousand) only + HRA as admissible per month for the 1st two years and Rs. 14,000/- (Rupees fourteen thousand) only + HRA as admissible per month for the 3 rd year for SRF, for the candidate without NET/GATE/BET qualification. HRA will not be provided if campus accommodation is availed.

Age: Candidate shall not be more than 28 years of age on the date of interview. Upper age limit may be relaxed up to 5 years in the case of candidate belonging to SC/ST/ OBC/Women/Differently abled.

Duration: Three (03) years or till completion of the project or until further order, whichever is earlier.

N.B. No TA/DA will be paid to the candidates for attending the interview. For further details please contact: Dr. S. S. Satapathy Associate Professor Department of Computer Science and Engineering Tezpur University, Napaam-784028 Email: ssankar@tezu.ernet.in Contact no.: +91-9435979648

More Info: www.tezu.ernet.in/ProjectWalkin/Advt-DoRD-CSE-SSS-20-295-188-A.pdf