BIOINFORMATICS NEEDS OF PROTEOMICS RESEARCHERS

The Science Advisory Boards study, Protein Databases and Software" provides a number of interesting insights into the most current areas of investigation in protein and proteomic research.

ARLINGTON, VA -- December 19, 2001 -- The Science Advisory Boards study, Protein Databases and Software" provides a number of interesting insights into the most current areas of investigation in protein and proteomic research. It is the sixth in an eight-part series of studies entitled, The Tools & Techniques of Protein Science Catalyzing the Future of Proteomics." The opinions of 462 scientists who utilize protein databases and proteomics software in their research are expressed in this study, which was conducted at the Science Advisory Boards Website, http://www.scienceboard.net.

Bioinformatics is a multidisciplinary technology platform that plays a strategic role in the integration of biological data. Its role is to efficiently organize, manage and analyze the vast amounts of information primarily through databases and software that is generated by cutting-edge proteomics applications. Almost three-quarters of protein scientists currently use databases in their protein research and this number will increase by 11% over the next 12 months. When selecting a particular database for use in their research, researchers definitely look for comprehensiveness and also accessibility," states Dr. Tamara Zemlo, Director of Scientific & Medical Communications at The Science Advisory Board.

Proteomics software programs are based upon complex algorithms that derive explanatory and predictive models from large sets of complex data by identifying patterns and developing probable relationships. These programs typically incorporate mechanisms to filter, standardize and cluster data as well as to visualize results. Interestingly, despite the prevalent use of databases in protein research, only 29% of protein scientists currently rely on additional software to perform these types of functions.

Study respondents experience the greatest difficulty when attempting to obtain functional data and tertiary structure information from the protein databases they are using in their research. This need will largely be met by emerging proteomics technologies that are providing continual opportunities for generating large quantities of sequence, expression and functional data. However, this enormous amount of information will require the development of new computational tools to capture, organize, categorize, analyze, mine, retrieve and share data. At present, researchers are hampered by difficult and time-consuming analyses and are overwhelmed by the choice of database options.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD

The Science Advisory Board is an online panel of more than 6,000 scientists, physicians and other life science and medical professionals from 62 countries. By convening electronically, Science Advisory Board members participate in online studies to voice their opinions on issues that directly affect the evolution and development of the tools and techniques of their professions. The Science Advisory Board is currently conducting ongoing studies in other exciting areas of the life sciences. Scientists can contribute their own views on the tools and techniques of their field by participating at http://www.scienceboard.net. The Science Advisory Board was organized in 1997 by BioInformatics, LLC (http://www.gene2drug.com), a research and consulting firm located in Arlington, VA.
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