SequenceWorld: a genetics database in virtual reality

Proper information visualization has always been viewed as an important tool for research. Traditionally, however, it was regarded as only a tool, with information content and visualization being analogous to an object and its representation, respectively. These days, visualization is increasingly seen as an integral part of information content, without which data collections may lose significant value. This paper is devoted to applying a new visualization scheme-SequenceWorld-to a genetics database. We view a collection of genetic sequences as a browsable virtual world. Sequences cluster according to their homologies. Their relative position, colour and shape codings offer a direct visual perception of a significant amount of information, which would otherwise be available only via extensive analysis of numerical and textual data. We discuss the usability of SequenceWorld for completing traditional and novel genetic database search tasks, particularly since a holistic view of a complete genome has recently become possible.