Classification

Many questions in bioinformatics can be expressed as classification problems:

• Is this sequence a promoter or something else?
• Does this portion of a protein sequence form a helix, a sheet, or a coil?
• Did this set of expression data come from a malignant tumour?

Using machine learning techniques to solve classification problems can:

• Automate analysis of new data
• Offer insights into the defining features of the classes