Not only is the quantity of life science data expanding, but new types of biological data continue to be introduced as a result of technological development and a growing understanding of biological systems. Methods for analyzing these data are an increasingly important component of modern biological research. In Bioinformatics, leading researchers in the field provide a selection of the most useful and widely applicable methods, able to be applied as is, or with minor variations, to many specific problems. Volume II: Structure, Function and Applications contains methods pertinent to the prediction of protein and RNA structures and the analysis and classification of structures, methods for inferring the function of previously identified genomic elements, chiefly protein-coding genes, medical applications in diagnostics and drug discovery, and "meta-methods" for developers of bioinformatics algorithms.