Toward a New Paradigm for User Interaction on the Semantic Web to Support Life Sciences Investigation (position paper

Abstract. Life Science information is increasingly available on the Semantic Web and this poses a demand for new tools and methodologies if it is to fulfill its potential to advance research in all areas of life sciences, including biomedicine. Life science information is obtained by traditionally distinct and varied scientific disciplines which explains why it is heterogeneous in its representation and in its semantics. The exploitation of this information by users relies only to a limited extent on well understood and shared formats, relations and metaphors; the interaction of users with biomedical information resources is an integral part of the definition and interpretation of the information that they provide. The need for this interactivity is reflected by current biomedical research practice. A range of life science software tools and methodologies focus on the analysis of biological networks and pathways. They provide interactive environments where relations among biological entities can be visualized and analyzed in the context of prior knowledge of biological systems or compared to experimental observations. Their representation o