The Atlas collates data from over 1000 different independent studies, mainly microarray experiments, with more than 30,000 samples in total. The new database is the latest product of the EBI's Microarray Informatics group and has its origins in the EBI's ArrayExpress resource. After a phase of development, the Atlas is ready to begin its own life as an independent major resource. Misha Kapushesky, Atlas project leader at the EBI commented, "While the ArrayExpress Archive makes data from high throughput functional genomics assays available to experts, Gene Expression Atlas presents this information in a format accessible to any biologist. The Atlas takes data directly from the ArrayExpress Archive, which is then enriched by curation, re-annotation and statistical computations before the results are presented to the user in an easily accessible form."

The Gene Expression Atlas has already found use in the pharmaceuticals industry as a valuable research platform. The resource can be accessed from ebi.ac/gxa and the Microarray Informatics group have produced an e-learning tutorial to guide users on how to get the most from the Atlas. This tutorial is freely available from the EBI's e-learning portal at ebi.ac/training/elearningcentral/.

ebi.ac