The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) welcome news that funding has been earmarked from the UK's Large Facilities Capital Fund for ELIXIR (European Life-science Infrastructure for Biological Information).
ELIXIR is a pan-European initiative that aims to operate a sustainable infrastructure for biological information in Europe. It seeks to provide public access to the information on the building blocks of life, including genes, proteins and complex networks. This is projected to support life science research and its translation to medicine and the environment, the bio-industries and society to deliver economic growth. In line with the movement towards open access to data and publications, ELIXIR will reportedly make important information freely available to researchers across academia and industry.
This project, if approved, will allow the construction of ELIXIR's central hub at EMBL-EBI in Hinxton near Cambridge, ensuring the maintenance and expansion of essential biological data resources to support bioscience researchers working in many disciplines. ELIXIR works through a network of nodes distributed throughout Europe and coordinated at EMBL-EBI.
BBSRC leads the funding strategy element of the project and has already contributed £10 million towards the establishment of ELIXIR. The Medical Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council and the Wellcome Trust also support ELIXIR. Denmark, Finland, Spain and Sweden have already committed funds towards developing the network.
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