An online source of continuously updated information on every human gene – sounds like a dream come true for every researcher. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of over one hundred scientists, the Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) Wikiproject is working towards making this goal a reality.

A major problem facing modern biology is organising the vast amount of information available on genomes, proteomes and cell function currently hidden in obscure databases and journal articles. Collecting and presenting this information in an accessible way for researchers and laypeople is one of the aims of this project. It also acts as a forum for detailed collaborative discussions of current research.
 
Former EMBO Fellow, Tim Vickers, now pursuing a post-doc in biochemistry at Washington University, is an editor and one of the main administrators of the MCB Wikiproject, part of the popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. “The visibility and influence of Wikipedia as an educational resource cannot be underestimated,” says Tim. “Its webpages are usually the top Google hit on any subject you search for, so it’s generally the first place people look for information on molecular and cellular biology. The MCB Wikiproject aims to ensure that this online resource is comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date, in the interests of the entire research community.”

Not surprisingly, with the wealth of research data available, the MCB Wikiproject is constantly evolving. With the help of other scientists, like Andrew Su of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, Tim is pursuing collaborations to import and open up for annotation the huge amount of genetic information produced from genomic, structural and microarray studies.

Open-access resources, such as the MCB Wikiproject, foster interactive and collaborative approaches to research. Supporters of the project hope to recruit more scientists (and their students) to help categorise, organise and upgrade articles about every aspect of molecular biology. Researchers interested in helping the project can sign themselves up to the wiki and add content, images or references to already existing articles, create entirely new articles on their research interests, or help to recruit other editors for the project.

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