Open access publisher BioMed Central, UK, and genomics institute BGI have announced the November 2011 launch of a new integrated database and journal called GigaScience. The product is projected to meet the needs of a new generation of biological and biomedical research as it enters the era of 'big-data'.
GigaScience has released its first datasets to be given a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). This enables a long-needed way to properly recognise the data producers who have provided an untold number of essential resources to the entire research community. This not only promotes very rapid data release, but also provides easy access, reuse, tracking and permanency for such datasets.
The datasets, created by BGI and its collaborators in Germany and in the Genome10K project, include the sequence and assembly data from the recent deadly outbreak strain E. coli O104. They also include seven large vertebrates, including the giant panda, which is in great danger of extinction; the Chinese rhesus and crab-eating cynomolous macaques, which are commonly used biomedical animal models; the polar bear and the emperor and adelie penguins, which live in extremely hostile environments; and the domestic pigeon, which has unusually accurate navigation abilities. The datasets have been assigned DOIs to enable other scientists to cite the datasets, in the same manner as scientific papers.
GigaScience has been working with the DataCite organisation and the British Library to enable datasets to be given DOIs. A primary goal for creating dataset DOIs is to promote extremely rapid data release and dissemination. And, in keeping with this, the majority of the above datasets are available prior to the publication of their associated scientific journal articles. Currently, such publication is the only effective means for data producers to obtain credit for their work. This normally creates extensive delays in data availability due to the long writing, reviewing and editing processes needed for article publication. This can seriously impede the speed at which scientific discoveries are made. The importance of free and faster methods of data release was made particularly clear in the recent deadly E. coli outbreak in Europe.
Search for more Biomedical Research related STM Journals
To access our daily STM news feed through your iPhone, iPad, or other smartphones, please visit www.myscoope.com for a mobile friendly reading experience.
