September 15, 2017 (Vol. 37, No. 16)
URL:
http://www.networkanalyst.ca
Rating:
Strong Points: Good tutorials, many analysis/visualization features
Weak Points: Glitchy interface, unable to directly upload sample files
Summary:
As large-scale gene expression profiling studies are becoming ever more prevalent, the necessity for ways to visualize and make sense of those data has become increasingly urgent. NetworkAnalyst is an online analysis tool that meets that need, offering statistical, visual, and network-based analytics for gene expression data. Three types of datasets can be uploaded to the site: a list of genes or proteins, a single gene expression dataset, or multiple gene expression datasets. Conveniently, the site offers example datasets as a way to let researchers explore the capabilities of the site (though I experienced some issues when trying to directly use the “try examples” dialog). The website includes five tutorials that collectively walk users through the main and miscellaneous features of NetworkAnalyst, describe how to create and explore a network from a list of genes, and describe how to analyze and visualize gene expression data using heatmaps and Chord Diagrams.
