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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
08:01
A Web Tool for Generating High Quality Machine-readable Biological Pathways
Published on: February 8, 2017
Linking NCBI to Wikipedia: a wiki-based approach.
1Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine College of Medical, Vetinary and Life Sciences University of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
Plos Currents
|April 26, 2011
Summary
This study introduces iPhylo Linkout, a Semantic wiki connecting the NCBI Taxonomy database with Wikipedia. This tool enhances access to taxonomic information by linking scientific data with accessible online encyclopedic content.
Area of Science:
- Bioinformatics
- Phyloinformatics
- Computational Biology
Background:
- The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Taxonomy database is crucial for bioinformatics and phyloinformatics but offers limited intrinsic data on taxa.
- Wikipedia presents a readily accessible source of information for numerous taxa.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop iPhylo Linkout, a Semantic wiki designed to map taxa from the NCBI Taxonomy database to their corresponding Wikipedia pages.
- To facilitate easier editing, correction, and annotation of links between the NCBI and Wikipedia databases.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of a Semantic wiki to store and manage mappings between NCBI Taxonomy entries and Wikipedia pages.
- Leveraging the NCBI LinkOut service to make these curated links accessible to NCBI users.
Main Results:
- The iPhylo Linkout mapping currently includes approximately 53,000 taxa.
- The developed mapping is publicly available at http://iphylo.org/linkout.
- Links are integrated into the NCBI LinkOut service for enhanced user accessibility.
Conclusions:
- iPhylo Linkout successfully bridges the gap between structured taxonomic data and encyclopedic knowledge.
- The Semantic wiki approach allows for dynamic and community-driven curation of taxonomic links.
- This initiative improves the utility of the NCBI Taxonomy database by enriching it with Wikipedia content.
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