Genomic data and biomedical imaging data are undergoing exponential growth. However, our understanding of the phenotype–genotype connection linking the two types of data is lagging behind. While there are many types of software that enable the manipulation and analysis of image data and genomic data as separate entities, there is no framework established for linking the two. We present a generic set of software tools, BioDIG, that allows linking of image data to genomic data. BioDIG tools can be applied to a wide range of research problems that require linking images to genomes. BioDIG features the following: rapid construction of web-based workbenches, community-based annotation, user management and web services. By using BioDIG to create websites, researchers and curators can rapidly annotate a large number of images with genomic information. Here we present the BioDIG software tools that include an image module, a genome module and a user management module. We also introduce a BioDIG-based website, MyDIG, which is being used to annotate images of mycoplasmas.Database URL: BioDIG website: http://biodig.orgBioDIG source code repository: http://github.com/FriedbergLab/BioDIGThe MyDIG database: http://mydig.biodig.org/

We implement and describe a computer simulation system that takes virtual reality technology beyond specialized laboratories and research sites, and makes them available in any space, such as a high-school gymnasium or a public park. Our hardware and software systems enable HMD-based immersive virtual reality simulations to be conducted in any arbitrary location with no external infrastructure and little-to-no setup required. We demonstrate the ability of this system to provide realistically motiontracked navigation for users and to generate usable behavioral data by having participants navigate through a full-scale virtual grocery store while physically situated in a grassy field. Applications for behavioral research and use cases for other fields are discussed.

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