As the size and complexity of biomedical databases increases, researchers will find it difficult to keep track of the relationships between the data and their ideas. We propose to develop a Database, Text, and Idea Linker (DTAIL) to help scientists create a personal database view. These hypertext-like tools would attach notes and comments to entries, link entries as specified by the user, and form automatic links between entries using criteria set by the user. The DTAIL view facility would allow easy display of the attached notes and links. Finally, we will test the feasibility of a biomedical idea generating tool.Awardee's statement of the potential commercial applications of the research: DTAIL will be used by biomedical researchers to customize view of and annotate protein and sequence databases. DTAIL's ability to comment on and link database entries has broad applicability in medicine, chemistry, and biotechnology.National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
