● http://www.mged.org/

● http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress

● http://www.frontiersingenomics.com

Gene-expression microarrays are revolutionizing the way we categorize tumours. The problem is that everyone is using different platforms and analysis tools, and storing different types of data. Will we ever be able to compare data from different experiments?

The Microarray Gene Expression Data Group (MGED) was set up to create order from the chaos, by introducing standards for the design of microarray experiments and the annotation of results. If you want to make sure that your microarray experiments will be interpretable by the wider community, check out their minimal information about a microarray experiment (MIAME).

You can also deposit your data at ArrayExpress — a public repository of microarray data. ArrayExpress accepts data in MAGE-ML, the standard format developed by MGED, but don't worry if you're not a bioinformatics whizz because there's also a simple web-based submission tool called MIAMExpress that takes you through the whole process in plain English.

And if you need a good introduction to the use of microarrays in biomedical research, take a look at http://www.Frontiersingenomics.com. This site, developed by the Johns Hopkins Program in Applied Genomics and the United States Children's National Medical Centre, uses streaming media technology to introduce novices to microarrays, and take them through the intricacies of experimental design.

With these tools in hand, cancer researchers should be able to make optimal use of the vast amount of microarray data that is accumulating, and eventually apply it to the diagnosis and treatment of patients.