Disease Models & Mechanisms (May 2016)

The challenges of big data

  • Elaine R. Mardis

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1242/dmm.025585
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 5
pp. 483 – 485

Abstract

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The largely untapped potential of big data analytics is a feeding frenzy that has been fueled by the production of many next-generation-sequencing-based data sets that are seeking to answer long-held questions about the biology of human diseases. Although these approaches are likely to be a powerful means of revealing new biological insights, there are a number of substantial challenges that currently hamper efforts to harness the power of big data. This Editorial outlines several such challenges as a means of illustrating that the path to big data revelations is paved with perils that the scientific community must overcome to pursue this important quest.