KEGG MEDICUS
More than twenty years ago the Human Genome Project was initiated with the promises of medical and social benefits, especially, uncovering molecular mechanisms of human diseases and developing new strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Despite the successful sequencing of the human genome and the subsequent coordinated efforts, these promises have not been fully met. However, thanks to the advancement of both sequencing and bioinformatics technologies the time may have finally come for bringing the genomic revolution to society. The KEGG resource is being expanded to meet the needs of translational bioinformatics, in terms of both traslating research results into practical applications and translating scientific knowledge into layman's terms.
Translational Bioinformatics
| Role | Example |
Research
Community | Helping to bring research results
into practical applications | Personalized medicine
Drug discovery |
| Society | Helping to utilize scientific knowledge
about diseases and drugs | Participatory medicine
Self-medication |
Genome-based integrated resource for diseases, drugs, and environmental substances
KEGG MEDICUS is being developed in this project, where KEGG molecular networks (KEGG PATHWAY, KEGG DISEASE, KEGG DRUG, etc.) are integrated with disease and drug information used in clinical practice and in wider society, such as the package inserts of marketed drugs. It is hoped that KEGG MEDICUS will assist scientists to translate their research results into medical and industrial innovations and will also allow doctors, pharmacists, patients and consumers to make better use of scientific data on disease and drug-related molecular networks.
KEGG MEDICUS is supported by the Life Science Database Integration Project of the National Bioscience Database Center in Japan.
