Elsevier Introduces Protein Interaction Browser

AMSTERDAM, October 11, 2011 -

Elsevier Visually Presents Protein to Protein Interactions Within Published Articles

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, medical and technical products and services, introduces the Protein Interaction Browser, a new application available on SciVerse ScienceDirect. The Protein Interaction Browser allows readers to view and interactively explore protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks for all proteins in a scientific paper. The browser is currently available for the Elsevier-published journal FEBS Letters.

Elsevier collaborated with both the Department of Biology at the University of Rome, where the Protein Interaction Browser was developed, and the staff from MINT (Molecular INTeraction database), which contains protein-protein interactions expertly curated from the scientific literature. Elsevier is the first to incorporate this new technology into a journal.

Professor Gianni Cesareni from MINT who is also one of the FEBS Letters editors said: “Many articles in biological journals describe relationships between proteins. The Protein Interaction Browser helps readers to place the findings described in the article in the context of the protein interaction web of a living cell”.

IJsbrand Jan Aalbersberg, Vice President of Content Innovation at Elsevier, added: “In 2008 we introduced the Structured Digital Abstract (SDA), a machine readable code for the protein-protein interactions, linking directly to the MINT database. With the Protein Interaction Browser, end-users can set different parameters for the interactions and see how the proteins interact, and which papers describe specific interactions. The browser can pull a lot of information together relating to specific interactions, providing the end-user with an overview of the underlying dynamics.”

The Protein Interaction Browser is one of the results of the Article of the Future project, which is designed to improve the readers’ experience in all areas of article presentation SciVerse ScienceDirect, enriched content, and interoperability with external databases. The Protein Interaction Browser will be available for all other Elsevier applicable life sciences journals in the future.

About FEBS

Founded on the 1st of January 1964, FEBS is a not-for-profit charity and is one of the largest organisations in European life sciences, with nearly 40.000 members distributed among 36 Constituent Societies and 7 Associated Member Societies in 43 countries. FEBS seeks to promote, encourage and support biochemistry, molecular cell biology and molecular biophysics  throughout Europe in a variety of ways, such as offering courses, fellowships, awards and prizes. FEBS publishes journals, and organizes an annual congress. Go to: www.febs.org

About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier’s online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai’s Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
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Senior Manager Corporate Relations Elsevier
h.boersma@elsevier.com
+31(0)20-485-27-36

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