Managing the Data Ecosystem in Life Sciences through Bioinformatics

<p>Information is key in producing knowledge. We undoubtedly live in time of massive information; particularly in Science, there is an abundance of research published and otherwise disseminated daily. However, volume is not always a positive trend as useful information can be easily lost within the multitudes of similar, but not necessarily relevant, information. Moreover, much of the research produced is hidden behind subscription walls, which severely limit access for the wider audience. This is particularly true in Life Sciences which have become massive in scale through the widespread use of NGS sequencing machines among others. The simultaneous growth of data collection techniques along with data aggregation and mining algorithms provides an unprecedented opportunity for rapid knowledge discovery. Integrated platforms combined with bioinformatics solutions can pave the way towards horizontal studies and novel opportunities. Specifically, the construction of domain-specific platforms can lead to integrated solutions and multiple views of the same issue, by acting as a nexus of knowledge for the particular domain / problem it addresses, and by providing novel opportunities for systematic integration of different data, thus facilitating horizontal studies. In essence, they can a form a framework for Bioinformatics analysis that (a) enables the re-analysis of old data with new methods, (b) facilitates data remixing and data integration for increased resolution and (c) allows for algorithmic and data-driven hypothesis generation.