Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
any federally funded database effort would proceed. Jordan and Cass-
man received numerous letters supporting the proposed database from
molecular biologists around the country. The correspondence argued
for the database on the grounds that it would act as a powerful organiz-
ing resource for biology as well as a repository:
There appears to be some question as to the utility of a na-
tional DNA sequence analysis and databank facility. We wish
to express our strong support in this matter. . . . In our labora-
tory, we have used Seq [a sequence analysis program available
at Stanford], for example, to locate transcripts from an
in vitro
transcription system when we could not fi nd them ourselves. . . .
Such a system for DNA sequence analysis would open a new
way of thinking about sequence analysis for researchers who do
not now have access to a computing center or staff available to
maintain a local facility.
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The database would not be just a library or an information-sharing
scheme, but provide a “new way of thinking” about sequences for mo-
lecular geneticists.
By mid-1980, in order to encourage the NIH to act, both Dayhoff
and Goad had begun pilot nucleotide sequence banks (no doubt they
both also hoped to improve their own chances of winning any NIH
contract that might be tendered). As described in chapter 1, Goad was
a theoretical physicist by training, and after working on nuclear weap-
ons, he became interested in molecular biology in the mid-1960s. At
Los Alamos, he assembled a small group of mathematicians, physicists,
and biologists to work on problems of protein and nucleotide sequence
analysis. Already by December 1979, Goad and his team had written
a proposal for a “national center for collection and computer storage
and analysis of nucleic acid sequences” based on their pilot project. The
aims of such a facility were clearly set out:
The discovery of patterns inherent in base sequences can be
aided by computer manipulation to an even greater extent than
for either numerical relationships (where there is a natural or-
dering) or natural language text (where we are habituated to
certain patterns). . . . The library would be invaluable for relat-
ing sequences across many biological systems, testing hypothe-
ses, and designing experiments for elucidating both general and
particular biological questions. . . . The development of methods
