Information about species is accumulating at an unprecedented rate. Yet, many scientists are frustrated because they lack the tools and resources to interpret the data.

Following a survey of the new genomics technologies, this presentation will introduce biologists to an excellent set of freeware and Open Source tools for analyzing structural and functional genomics data.

Participants will first see how Linux can be used to convert a surplus computer into their own BLAST server, with local copies of Genbank and custom databases for batch and advanced queries.

Perl will then be introduced as a tool for parsing and analyzing BLAST output, with a brief overview of other bioinformatics applications of this versatile language.

Finally, following a look into MySQL as a tool for establishing and querying microarray databases, a comparison of several on-line microarray databases and freeware resources will be presented, including a discussion of the developing MIAME and MAML standards.