A Gene Wiki for Community Annotation of Gene Function

Sample size: 7500 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Jon W Huss III, Camilo Orozco, James Goodale, Chunlei Wu, Serge Batalov, Tim J Vickers, Faramarz Valafar, Andrew I Su

Primary Institution: San Diego State University and Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation

Growth of a comprehensive gene wiki could be accelerated by systematic creation of gene page stubs.

The gene wiki effort has begun a positive-feedback loop that will promote its long-term success.

Over 60% of gene pages at Wikipedia are listed on the first page of Google search results.
Approximately 50% of all edits to gene pages were made on the newly created pages.
The gene wiki can facilitate efficient browsing of related topics in the local gene neighborhood.
Scale-free properties in the Wikipedia gene network suggest potential for growth and connectivity.

This study created a wiki for genes where many people can help add information, making it easier to learn about genes.

Gene stubs were created automatically using a computer program that harvested data from Entrez Gene.

Potential bias due to the anonymous editing nature of Wikipedia.

The open nature of Wikipedia raises concerns about the completeness and accuracy of the articles.

Primarily focused on human genes, with contributions from a large population of Wikipedia users.

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