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Wikipedia goes genetic

by on10 July 2008

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Changing your genes


Boffins want to create a Wikipedia library of human genetics, with entries on the workings of individual genes.

Authors of the "gene wiki" have created 7,500 Wikipedia entries on different genes and are editing another 650 already existing entries. According to a paper published on the Public Library of Science's online journal, PLoS Biology, which we get for the crossword, eight authors from the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation in San Diego, San Diego State University and Washington University in St. Louis are involved in the wiki.

The big idea is that the gene wiki will evolve into a collection of collaboratively created, continually updated, community-reviewed review articles for every gene in the human genome. Unfortunately that could mean that the gene wiki will be overwritten by someone else who comes along and could result in human-fly hybrids, politicians, Apple fanboys and other horrifying mutations.

However the gene wiki researchers said, they chose Wikipedia because it is highly popular and the site's volunteer editors tend to quickly correct inaccuracies.
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