{"id":2273,"date":"2011-10-18T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2011-10-18T08:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.msdn.microsoft.com\/msr_er\/2011\/10\/18\/microsoft-biology-foundation-evolves-into-new-toolkit-net-bio\/"},"modified":"2016-07-20T07:33:30","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T14:33:30","slug":"microsoft-biology-foundation-evolves-into-new-toolkit-net-bio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/blog\/microsoft-biology-foundation-evolves-into-new-toolkit-net-bio\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Biology Foundation Evolves into New Toolkit: .NET Bio"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;\"><a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/msdnshared.blob.core.windows.net\/media\/MSDNBlogsFS\/prod.evol.blogs.msdn.com\/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles\/00\/00\/01\/32\/81\/1234.netbio_222x137.png\" original-url=\"http:\/\/blogs.msdn.com\/cfs-file.ashx\/__key\/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles\/00-00-01-32-81\/1234.netbio_5F00_222x137.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0px currentColor; margin-right: 5px; margin-left: 5px; float: left;\" title=\".NET Bio logo\" alt=\".NET Bio logo\" src=\"https:\/\/msdnshared.blob.core.windows.net\/media\/MSDNBlogsFS\/prod.evol.blogs.msdn.com\/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles\/00\/00\/01\/32\/81\/1234.netbio_222x137.png\" original-url=\"http:\/\/blogs.msdn.com\/resized-image.ashx\/__size\/222x137\/__key\/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles\/00-00-01-32-81\/1234.netbio_5F00_222x137.png\" \/><span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>The <a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/research.microsoft.com\/en-us\/projects\/bio\/mbf.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Microsoft Biology Foundation<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> (MBF) has undergone a significant transformation since it was first released. Over time, it&rsquo;s become clear that a new name was also in order. So today, I am pleased to announce that MBF will now be known as <a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/bio.codeplex.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">.NET Bio<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>. In addition to the new name, .NET Bio will also have a new location: the <a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.outercurve.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Outercurve Foundation<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>. This move is the next logical step in the life of the project: transferring its ownership to a nonprofit foundation that is dedicated to open-source software underscores our community-led philosophy; while Microsoft will continue to contribute to the code, it will do so as one among a growing community of users and contributors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;\"><strong>About .NET Bio<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;\">.NET Bio is a bioinformatics toolkit that was built using the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/net\" target=\"_blank\">Microsoft 4.0 .NET Framework<\/a>. It is designed for use by developers, researchers, and scientists, making it simpler to build applications to meet the needs of life scientists. This open-source platform features a library of commonly used bioinformatics functions plus applications built upon that framework, and can be extended by using any Microsoft .NET language, including C#, F#, Visual Basic .NET, and IronPython.<\/span><br \/>&nbsp;<br \/><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;\">Users can perform a range of tasks with .NET Bio, including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\">Importing DNA, RNA, or protein sequences from files with a variety of standard data formats, including FASTA, FASTQ, GFF, GenBank, and BED. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\">Constructing sequences from scratch. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\">Manipulating sequences in various ways, such as adding or removing elements or generating a complement. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\">Analyzing sequences by using algorithms such as Smith-Waterman and Needleman-Wunsch. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\">Submitting sequence data to remote websites (for example, a Basic Local Alignment Search Tool [BLAST] website) for analysis. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\">Outputting sequence data in any supported file format, regardless of the input format.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;\">Like other frameworks (for example, BioJava and BioPython), .NET Bio can help reduce the level of effort that is required to implement bioinformatics applications through the provision of a range of pre-written functionality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;\">In addition to enhancements to the performance and capacity of the basic features contained in the previous version, the new version will provide a range of new features and demo applications. This includes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\">Access to advanced math functions by using <a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/research.microsoft.com\/en-us\/projects\/sho\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sho<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> scripting<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\">A comparative DNA sequence assembler sample application<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\">A range of command-line utilities<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;\">.NET Bio is now in use by both academic and commercial organizations&mdash;including Microsoft&mdash;worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;\">&mdash;<em><a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/research.microsoft.com\/en-us\/people\/smercer\/\" target=\"_blank\">Simon Mercer<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, Director of Health of Wellbeing, Microsoft Research Connections<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Learn More<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\"><a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/bio.codeplex.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">.NET Bio<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\"><a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/bio.codeplex.com\/discussions\" target=\"_blank\">.NET Bio Community Forums<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\"><a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/research.microsoft.com\/en-us\/collaboration\/focus\/health\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Health and Wellbeing at Microsoft Research Connections<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;\"><a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.outercurve.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Outercurve Foundation<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Microsoft Biology Foundation (MBF) has undergone a significant transformation since it was first released. Over time, it&rsquo;s become clear that a new name was also in order. So today, I am pleased to announce that MBF will now be known as .NET Bio. In addition to the new name, .NET Bio will also have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32627,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"msr-url-field":"","msr-podcast-episode":"","msrModifiedDate":"","msrModifiedDateEnabled":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","msr-author-ordering":[],"msr_hide_image_in_river":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[187097,194650,194787,194829,194830,194840,194849,187184,195327,195369,193543,195561,195562,195650,195691,195978,196379,196391,196439,196642,187415,196740,196761,197010,197193,197211,197233,197719],"research-area":[],"msr-region":[],"msr-event-type":[],"msr-locale":[268875],"msr-post-option":[],"msr-impact-theme":[],"msr-promo-type":[],"msr-podcast-series":[],"class_list":["post-2273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-blog","tag-net-bio","tag-and-scientists","tag-bed","tag-bioinformatics-toolkit","tag-biojava","tag-biopython","tag-blast","tag-c","tag-developers","tag-dna-sequence-assembler","tag-f","tag-fasta","tag-fastq","tag-genbank","tag-gff","tag-ironpython","tag-microsoft-4-0-net-framework","tag-microsoft-biology-foundation-mbf","tag-microsoft-research-connections","tag-needleman-wunsch","tag-open-source-software","tag-open-source-platform","tag-outercurve-foundation","tag-researchers","tag-sho-scripting","tag-simon-mercer","tag-smith-waterman","tag-visual-basic-net","msr-locale-en_us"],"msr_event_details":{"start":"","end":"","location":""},"podcast_url":"","podcast_episode":"","msr_research_lab":[],"msr_impact_theme":[],"related-publications":[],"related-downloads":[],"related-videos":[],"related-academic-programs":[],"related-groups":[],"related-projects":[],"related-events":[],"related-researchers":[],"msr_type":"Post","byline":"","formattedDate":"October 18, 2011","formattedExcerpt":"The Microsoft Biology Foundation (MBF) has undergone a significant transformation since it was first released. Over time, it&rsquo;s become clear that a new name was also in order. So today, I am pleased to announce that MBF will now be known as .NET Bio. In&hellip;","locale":{"slug":"en_us","name":"English","native":"","english":"English"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32627"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2273"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262233,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273\/revisions\/262233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"msr-research-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-area?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"msr-region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-region?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"msr-event-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-event-type?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"msr-locale","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-locale?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"msr-post-option","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-post-option?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"msr-impact-theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-impact-theme?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"msr-promo-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-promo-type?post=2273"},{"taxonomy":"msr-podcast-series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-podcast-series?post=2273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}