Bioinformatics sits at the exciting intersection where biology meets data science, using powerful computer tools to decode the vast complexity of living systems. From mapping the human genome to tracking how viruses evolve, this field transforms raw biological information into actionable insights that drive modern medicine and research forward without requiring a supercomputer to understand the basics.

On Gist.Science, we ensure you never miss a breakthrough by processing every new preprint in this category directly from bioRxiv. Our team provides both plain-language explanations and detailed technical summaries for each paper, making cutting-edge discoveries accessible to everyone regardless of their background.

Below are the latest bioinformatics papers added from bioRxiv, ready for you to explore with clarity and depth.

💻 bioinformatics

Computational Prediction of Plasmodium falciparum Antigen-T-cell Receptor Interactions via Molecular Docking: Implications for Malaria Vaccine Design

This study utilizes computational molecular docking and immunoinformatics to identify PfCyRPA, PfMSP10, and PfCSP as top *Plasmodium falciparum* antigen candidates for malaria vaccine design by evaluating their interactions with human T-cell receptors.

Kipkoech, G., Kanda, W., Irungu, B., Nyangi, M., Kimani, C., Nyangacha, R., Keter, L., Atieno, D., Gathirwa, J., Kigondu (…)2026-03-20
💻 bioinformatics

Differentiable Gene Set Enrichment Analysis for Pathway-Level Supervision in Transcriptomic Learning

This paper introduces differentiable GSEA (dGSEA), a scalable and numerically stable surrogate for classical Gene Set Enrichment Analysis that enables pathway-level supervision in transcriptomic prediction models by replacing discrete ranking operations with differentiable approximations, thereby bridging the gap between gene-wise training objectives and pathway-level interpretation.

Li, S., Ruan, Y., Yang, X., Wen, Z., Saigo, H.2026-03-20
💻 bioinformatics

Mapping spatial cell-cell communication programs by tailoring chains of cells for transformer neural networks

The paper introduces scCChain, a transformer-based framework that maps spatial cell-cell communication by constructing and scoring tailored chains of cells to identify interpretable communication programs and localize interaction hotspots at both spot and single-cell resolutions.

Brunn, N., Guitart, L. C., Farhadyar, K., Fullio, C. L., Kailer, J., Vogel, T., Hackenberg, M., Binder, H.2026-03-20
💻 bioinformatics

Systematic assessment of machine learning-based variant annotation methods for rare variant association testing

This study systematically benchmarks five machine learning-based variant annotation methods across UK Biobank data, revealing that CADD v1.6 achieves the best signal separation while AlphaMissense shows calibration issues, ultimately providing practical guidance for method selection and a new framework for calibration assessment in rare variant association testing.

Aguirre, M., Irudayanathan, F. J., Crow, M., Hejase, H. A., Menon, V. K., Pendergrass, R. K., McCarthy, M. I., Fletez-Br (…)2026-03-20