Gene Function
A wiki on gene function would make life very much easier for biologists. Such a wiki would also be less susceptible to spam, as most users would be biologists. It would also be more accurate, as long as statements are accompanied by references.
Several gene-function databases already exist, but each has certain disadvantages for the average biologist.
The Entrez Gene database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=gene) contains a Gene Reference Into Function, or GeneRIF, that allows users to submit statements with supporting literature references to annotate gene function. But although many short statements have accumulated in this database, it would be useful to have concise summaries compiled by experts, and these are not usually available.
The Molecule Pages for signalling proteins (http://www.signaling-gateway.org/molecule) and the OMIM database for human inherited diseases (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=OMIM) both rely heavily on community input, but are both limited to special-interest groups.
The UniProt Knowledge Base (http://www.uniprot.org) provides an integrated view of gene functions. But the information is collected from highly heterogeneous experimental and computational data sources, so the annotations often lack confidence measures.
