The Microsoft Biology Foundation (MBF) has been used in genomics and vaccine research, and has the potential for many applications. The toolkit helps free researchers and scientists from the details of data management, allowing them to focus on the actual subject of their work.
The following tools take advantage of the capabilities of the Microsoft Biology Foundation, and provide examples of how MBF can be used to create other tools. They are also part of the Microsoft Biology Tools (MBT), a collection of tools to help the biology and bioinformatics researcher improve productivity in making scientific discoveries.
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Microsoft Research Biology Extension for Excel
This extension for Microsoft Excel creates a custom ribbon component labeled "Bioinformatics" in the top menu bar of Excel. Through this customization, biologists can access bioinformatics features in addition to all of the usual features in Excel.
Developers can modify the Biology Extension to use other features in the Microsoft Biology Foundation or other custom bioinformatics capabilities. Developers can write custom bioinformatics applications by using the libraries of the Microsoft Biology Foundation and can add UI elements for those applications to the Biology Extension.
- Install the Microsoft Research Biology Extension for Excel 2.0 Beta 1
- Install the Microsoft Research Biology Extension for Excel 1.0
- Download source code and/or participate via the Biology Extension for Excel CodePlex site
- Watch the videos:
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Excel Add-in: Introduction Microsoft Research Senior Program Manager Michael Zyskowski introduces this new add-in for Microsoft Excel that gives scientists and researchers the ability to study genomic data, perform assemblies, and access BLAST services all inside Excel. |
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Excel Add-in: Genomic Intervals Microsoft Research Senior Program Manager Michael Zyskowski demonstrates how this add-in for Microsoft Excel gives scientists and researchers the ability to study genomic intervals and create Venn diagrams in support of publicating results. |
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WorldWide Telescope Add-in for Excel Rob Fatland, from Microsoft Research Connections, provides an overview of the features and capabilities of the WorldWide Telescope Add-in for Microsoft Excel, a powerful set of development tools and sample applications that enable data to be easily imported and visualized in WorldWide Telescope. |
Microsoft Research Sequence Assembler
Biologists and laboratory technicians who manage nex-generation genomic sequencing data for alignment, assembly, and/or BLAST identification will find this application useful. Although a variety of other full-featured applications provide similar functionality, this application exposes the capabilities of the Microsoft Biology Foundation.
When coupled with the rich user interface elements that the Windows Presentation Foundation supports, the Sequence Assembler provides a unique combination of advanced application interface, controls, and visualization of the data. These features can be useful to scientists, researchers, and clinicians who work with genomic data, but more importantly, the Sequence Assembler is a full-featured sample application that can be extended, modified, and expanded to meet the needs of researchers in a wide range of fields.
- Install the Microsoft Research Sequence Assembler 2.0 Beta 1
- Install the Microsoft Research Sequence Assembler 1.0
- Download source code and/or participate via the MBF CodePlex site
Note: Sequence Assembler code is hosted in the same project as MBF - Watch the videos:
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Sequence Assembler: Introduction Microsoft Research Senior Program Manager Michael Zyskowski introduces this new sample application, which is part of the Microsoft Biology Foundation. The application can be used by scientists and researchers to study DNA, RNA, and protein sequences. |
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Sequence Assembler: DNA Short Reads Microsoft Research Senior Program Manager Michael Zyskowski discusses how the Sequence Assember can be used to study the short read format of DNA sequences, and demonstrates how to perform sequence assemblies, access BLAST services, and use the SilverMap feature. |
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Sequence Assembler: DNA Long Reads Microsoft Research Senior Program Manager Michael Zyskowski discusses how the Sequence Assember can be used to study the long read format of DNA sequences, and demonstrates how to perform sequence assemblies and access BLAST services. |
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Sequence Assembler: De Novo Assembly Microsoft Research Senior Program Manager Michael Zyskowski demonstrates the benefits of the novel Parallel de Novo Assembler (PaDeNA) and Smith-Waterman pairwise aligner, both included in the Microsoft Biology Foundation (MBF) library. |
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Sequence Assembler: Protein Alignments Microsoft Research Senior Program Manager Michael Zyskowski discusses how the Sequence Assember can be used to study protein sequences, and demonstrates how to perform sequence assemblies, access BLAST services, and use the SilverMap feature. |
BL!P: BLAST in Pivot
BL!P (blip), also known as BLAST in Pivot, is a tool that automates NCBI BLAST searches, fetches associated GenBank records, and converts this information into a Silverlight PivotViewer collection. Also, BL!P provides a user interface to create customized images for each BLAST match, allowing the user to further customize their data exploration experience.
- Install, download source code and/or participate via the BL!P CodePlex site