Graph Data Representation in Oracle Database 10 g : Case Studies in Life Sciences.

Abstract

New technologies have been developed in the life sciences that allow researchers to study biological systems in rich detail. These advances have resulted in an abundance of data that describes the relations between the fundamental components of biological systems, such as genes, proteins, and metabolites. The network of relations between the components holds insights as to how biological systems function, and consequently can help researchers understand the mechanisms behind disease. Biological networks are commonly managed and analyzed in a graph representation. Oracle Database 10g has the functionality to model data as a graph, and thereby has the potential to greatly facilitate research. In this paper we describe the Oracle implementation and provide case studies from the life sciences.