Two recent trends among databases are also promising. Specialized disease databases, such as AlzGene [67] and the UCSC Cancer Genomics Browser [68], can aggregate salient information from diverse studies on a particular disease. These targeted resources are particularly up-to-date and can facilitate collaboration within highly-investigated diseases. Functional annotation of genes is also becoming prominent. These annotations draw on experimental data that indicates function, location of action, or physiological region of association [69], and can allow investigators to develop candidate pathways related to localized anatomical or physiological derangements. Extensions of this concept across disciplines will likely be a prime area of advancement.
