Illumina will release new software on May 12 for its Genome Analyzer IIx system that will allow scientists to increase their sequencing output by "up to 65 percent" compared with the Genome Analyzer II.
According to the firm, the software has improved cluster detection, giving a 40 percent increase in reads per flow and lower error rates. The system also enables base calling and quality assessment on the instrument control workstation, which reduces the need to transfer large data files across networks and minimizes data storage requirements, Illumina said.
In addition, these software improvements "require only the computing power that runs the sequencer," the company said.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information has released a new database called BioSystems, which aggregates information from many public resources so that it can be used as a centralized repository of data.
It also lets users connect records in the literature to molecular and chemical data stored in the Entrez system, NCBI said. BioSystems also has a computational function to "facilitate computation on biosystems data."
The database currently contains pathway information from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and EcoCyc, "and is designed to accommodate other types of biosystems such as diseases as data about them become available," NCBI said.
Business analytics software firm SAS has released JMP Genomics 4.0, which has new statistical tools for quality control, normalization, and pattern discovery. The software "marries" analytic visualization functionalities of SAS 9.2 and JMP 8.0 platforms, the company said.
The new software gives users workflows for exon and expression analysis and predictive modeling methods and options for predictor filtering and cross-validation, the company said.
GenomeQuest has released the Digital Gene Expression Workflow for its sequence analysis platform. The workflow is designed to support researchers running gene expression experiments with next-generation sequencing platforms.
The Digital Gene Expression Workflow provides gene expression reports and an integrated gene viewer, and allows users to drill down to individual alignments.
GenomeQuest said that the workflow supports data from the Illumina Genome Analyzer, Applied Biosystems SOLiD, Helicos Heliscope, and 454 FLX systems.
Symyx Technologies has released Isentris Personal Edition, a scientific information-management platform designed for small- to mid-sized R&D organizations and for individuals.
Symyx said that Isentris Personal Edition is the successor to the ISIS desktop system, replacing ISIS/Base, ISIS for Excel, and ISIS/Draw. Components include Symyx Isentris-Browse, which allows users to collate, report, and share data; Isentris for Excel, which automatically generates Microsoft Excel reports; and Symyx Draw, which allows users to draw and edit molecules, chemical reactions, polymers, non-specific mixtures, formulations, and biologics.
A free, 30-day trial is available here.