June 1, 2010 (Vol. 30, No. 11)

URL:
http://mint.bio.uniroma2.it/mint

Rating:
Strong Points: Search parameters, amount of information
Weak Points: None

Summary:

I have to admit, my mouth started watering a bit when I read the title for this page. I started envisioning mint in mojitos, mint in Thai food, and I wondered if there are enough types of mint to warrant a database? I should have known it to be one of the bazillion scientific acronyms, though I would say that this one lacks creativity. (It stands for Molecular INTeraction database.) Not for the culinary-inclined, this site does offer a number of tasty morsels for people interested in experimentally verified protein-protein interactions (or for those who just enjoy looking at really, really complicated diagrams). There are certainly a lot of interactions to be explored—111,847—and there are many search parameters from which to choose. My favorite is the “connect proteins” search, for which one enters a list of proteins and receives a network showing all of the interactions connecting them. This site is definitely one to sink your teeth into.

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