Question

The term Bioinformatics was coined by

• A. J.D Watson
• B. Pauline Hogeweg
• C. Margaret Dayhoff
• D. Frederic Sanger

Hint:

• Bioinformatics An interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data, especially large and complex data sets (e.g., genomic, proteomic).
• Term coined by Paulien Hogeweg and Ben Hesper.
• Margaret Dayhoff was a pioneer in developing early bioinformatics tools and databases.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The term "bioinformatics" is generally credited to have been coined by Paulien Hogeweg and Ben Hesper in 1970 (or 1978 in some sources for its first appearance in a publication). They used it to refer to "the study of informatic processes in biotic systems." Let's consider the other individuals:

• (a) J.D. Watson: Co-discoverer of the structure of DNA (with Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin). A key figure in molecular biology, but not the coiner of "bioinformatics."
• (c) Margaret Dayhoff: A pioneer in the field of bioinformatics. She created one of the first protein sequence databases (Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure) and developed methods for sequence alignment and evolutionary analysis (e.g., PAM matrices). While a foundational figure, she did not coin the term "bioinformatics."
• (d) Frederic Sanger: A British biochemist who won two Nobel Prizes in Chemistry: one for determining the amino acid sequence of insulin, and another for developing methods for DNA sequencing (Sanger sequencing). Crucial for generating sequence data used in bioinformatics, but not the coiner of the term.

Therefore, Paulien Hogeweg (often along with Ben Hesper) is credited with coining the term bioinformatics. \[ \boxed{\text{Pauline Hogeweg}} \]