{"title":"The in silico lab: Improving academic code using lessons from biology.","authors":"Jason Y Cain, Jessica S Yu, Neda Bagheri","doi":"10.1016/j.cels.2022.11.006","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>\"Good code\" is often regarded as a nebulous, impractical ideal. Common best practices toward improving code quality can be inaccessible to those without a rigorous computer science or software engineering background, contributing to a gap between advancing scientific research and FAIR practices. We seek to equip researchers with the necessary background and context to tackle the challenge of improving code quality in computational biology research using analogies from biology to synthesize why certain best practices are critical for advancing computational research. Improving code quality requires active stewardship; we encourage researchers to deliberately adopt and share practices that ensure reusability, repeatability, and reproducibility.</p>","PeriodicalId":54348,"journal":{"name":"Cell Systems","volume":"14 1","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cell Systems","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2022.11.006","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
"Good code" is often regarded as a nebulous, impractical ideal. Common best practices toward improving code quality can be inaccessible to those without a rigorous computer science or software engineering background, contributing to a gap between advancing scientific research and FAIR practices. We seek to equip researchers with the necessary background and context to tackle the challenge of improving code quality in computational biology research using analogies from biology to synthesize why certain best practices are critical for advancing computational research. Improving code quality requires active stewardship; we encourage researchers to deliberately adopt and share practices that ensure reusability, repeatability, and reproducibility.
Cell SystemsMedicine-Pathology and Forensic Medicine
CiteScore
16.50
自引率
1.10%
发文量
84
审稿时长
42 days
期刊介绍:
In 2015, Cell Systems was founded as a platform within Cell Press to showcase innovative research in systems biology. Our primary goal is to investigate complex biological phenomena that cannot be simply explained by basic mathematical principles. While the physical sciences have long successfully tackled such challenges, we have discovered that our most impactful publications often employ quantitative, inference-based methodologies borrowed from the fields of physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. We are committed to providing a home for elegant research that addresses fundamental questions in systems biology.