The Sample Distribution System for the Medical Research Council’s CIGMR project went live yesterday. This system will make it easier for people researching the Human Genome to find out what studies have already been performed, what information has been gathered.

However the main purpose of the site is to help researchers collaborate with the existing studies with the site facilitating the process from requesting a collaboration through to the samples being delivered to the researcher.

At the heart of the system is a generic database connector, required because each of the collections hold their data differently, yet it all needs to be presented consistently in SDS.

The SDS site can be found at www.dna-network.ac.uk.