The human genome -- now on an iPad near you
This logo for the Genome Wowser application was designed by the Center for Biomedical Informatics at CHOP. Credit: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Navigating the human genome with software that you can view on an iPad sounds pretty impressive, until perhaps you reflect that nature has already encoded trillions of copies of this in your chromosomes. Then again, printing that data using ink and paper would produce a mind-staggering pile of pagesso viewing it on an iPad may be impressive after all.
Now the Center for Biomedical Informatics (CBMi) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has created Genome Wowser, an app for exploring genomic information that is convenient, intuitive and highly mobile. Anyone with an iPad can download the app for free from the iTunes App StoreSM on the internet. Using Genome Wowser, a researcher can traverse the human genome just like planning a travel route on Google Maps.
A common use for the tool is to enter the name of a gene in Wowser's search box. The app finds the gene on one of the 23 human chromosomes, displaying an interactive image of its precise location among the genome's 3 billion base pairs.
Also included are annotations contributed by researchersnotes about each gene's known or suspected biological functions, and about identified mutations and variants of the gene. Users can find information about neighboring genes or about epigeneticshow a gene's functions are modified when chemicals attach or separate from exposed sections of DNA. Touching the screen (pinching and spreading) allows a user to zoom in or out of the chromosome region.
Genome Wowser's name plays on the name of the data source that it emulatesthe venerable UCSC Genome Browser, a website established in 2000 at the University of California Santa Cruz that serves as a popular worldwide data repository and genome exploration tool for human genome data. This information is constantly being updated as scientists uncover new gene data.
"We feel that Genome Wowser provides immediacy to the human genome," said Peter White, Ph.D., director of CBMi. "With this app, researchers can now access genomic data from anywhere with minimal effort, and they can immediately explore the genome visually by using the intuitive screen touches and gestures that have made the iPad platform so powerful," he added.
Genome Wowser supports viewing and querying of multiple types of genomic data, so that users can select the types of information that interest them and view them concurrently in a stacked display for a selected region. In addition to text-based and graphical search options, the app provides zooming capabilities for its genome graphics, and drag-and-swipe navigation to move seamlessly across a chromosome.
Perhaps most importantly, Genome Wowser allows convenient portability of genomic data. "With this app, I can hear about an interesting disease gene at a seminar and see its genomic and functional contexts in a few screen touches, including epigenetic and variation profiles, neighboring genes, and other critical associations you can't determine from a simple web search," said White. "Then, I can walk over to a colleague and share it with them, all in a few seconds."
Upcoming versions of the app will provide access to genome sequences of over three dozen non-human species, including dogs, cats, mice, chimpanzees, elephants, and 11 species of fruit fly, plus further improvements in the touch interface.
More information: To download the Genome Wowser free of charge, visit the app's iTunes page at itunes.apple.com/u… 7044318?mt=8 or search for "Genome Wowser" in the iTunes store.
Provided by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
- Tool helps identify gene function in soybeans Dec 01, 2008 | not rated yet | 0
- New genome sequencing targets announced Jul 24, 2006 | not rated yet | 0
- Epigenetic signals differ across alleles Feb 12, 2010 | not rated yet | 0
- Biologists find genetic explanation for evolutionary change: Location Oct 14, 2010 | not rated yet | 0
- Human chromosome 3 is sequenced Apr 27, 2006 | not rated yet | 0
- Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions Apr 23, 2013 | 3 / 5 (2) | 2
- Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update) Apr 02, 2013 | 4.5 / 5 (11) | 5
- The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation Mar 30, 2013 | 5 / 5 (2) | 9
- Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled Mar 27, 2013 | 4.9 / 5 (8) | 0
- Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance Feb 28, 2013 | 4.8 / 5 (10) | 14
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011 I'd like to open a discussion thread for version 2 of the draft of my book ''Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras'', available online at http://lanl.arxiv.org/abs/0810.1019 , and for the...
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Northwestern University scientists have shown a gene involved in neurodegenerative disease also plays a critical role in the proper function of the circadian clock.
Genetics May 16, 2013 | 3 / 5 (1) | 0 |
Informed consent is the backbone of patient care. Genetic testing has long required patient consent and patients have had a "right not to know" the results. However, as 21st century medicine now begins to use the tools of ...
Genetics May 16, 2013 | 5 / 5 (1) | 3 |
Ethicists provide framework supporting new recommendations on reporting incidental findings in gene sequencing
In a paper published in Science Express, a group of experts led by bioethicists in the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine provide a framework for the new American College of Medical Geneti ...
Genetics May 16, 2013 | not rated yet | 0
The use of genome-wide analysis (GWA), where the entirety of an individual's DNA is examined to look for the genomic mutations or variants which can cause health problems is a massively useful technology for diagnosing disease. ...
Genetics May 16, 2013 | not rated yet | 0
DNA databases might help identify victims of crime and human trafficking, but how do we safeguard the personal privacy of innocent victims and family members? A new report online May 15 in the Cell Press journal Trends in ...
Genetics May 15, 2013 | not rated yet | 0
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have identified a potential new risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea: asthma. Using data from the National Institutes of Health (Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)-funded Wisconsin ...
37 minutes ago | not rated yet | 0 |
A new study looking at sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neuroimaging adds to the growing body of research linking the two.
47 minutes ago | not rated yet | 0 |
Gourmands and foodies everywhere have long recognized ginger as a great way to add a little peppery zing to both sweet and savory dishes; now, a study from researchers at Columbia University shows purified components of the ...
37 minutes ago | not rated yet | 0
In their quest to learn more about the variability of cells between and within tissues, biomedical scientists have devised tools capable of simultaneously measuring dozens of characteristics of individual ...
1 hour ago | not rated yet | 0 |
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have turned their view of osteoarthritis (OA) inside out. Literally. Instead of seeing the painful degenerative disease as a problem primarily of the cartilage that cushions joints, ...
1 hour ago | 5 / 5 (1) | 0 |
The hunt for an HIV vaccine has gobbled up $8 billion in the past decade, and the failure of the most recent efficacy trial has delivered yet another setback to 26 years of efforts.
5 hours ago | not rated yet | 0