June 15, 2015 (Vol. 35, No. 12)
Rating:
Strong Points: Nicely organized site, downloadable data and tools
Weak Points: None
Summary:
The phrases “gene ontology” and “GO term” are ubiquitous in biological research, but have you ever stopped to wonder what goes into making GO terms? On the website for the Gene Ontology Consortium, you can find out more information about the origins and evolution of GO terms to yield the consistent and standardized vocabulary to describe gene products that we know today. Beyond providing a basic overview to the Gene Ontology, the website includes a great deal of additional content, too. Through the “tools” section of the website, users can explore the Gene Ontology data via AmiGO 2 or the GO Enrichment Analysis tool. The Gene Ontology is available to download from the site, along with other genomic mappings and annotations. There are also news and Twitter feeds on the homepage to keep site visitors in the know.
