Becoming a virtual organism to learn about genetics

Bioinformatics is the interdisciplinary intersection of computing and the life sciences. The National Institute of Health [6] defines bioinformatics as the use of computer techniques to explore biological problems. As computers have become more mobile -evolving from mainframes to desktop workstations to laptop computers to personal digital assistants (PDAs) [3] such as Palm Pilots and Pocket PCs -so too has bioinformatics. Recently, Riikonen and colleagues [10] wrote a client-server interface reminiscent of a thin client application that enables Internet-connected PDAs to search bioinformatics databases. Advances in technology have also led to advances in the teaching of bioinformatics, which is now supported by mobile platforms including the "thinking tag" and the Palm Pilot [4, 7]. In this paper, we explore the use of a Pocket PC genetics participatory simulation, an activity that embeds the investigator in a life-size simulation, in studying computational evolutionary biology, with particular emphasis on its value as a teaching tool.