How to Use the HAMNP Books

In essence, from data computerization point of view, scientific knowledge is the expression of interrelation between research objects in different types. During a long coastline without computer, people learn and spread scientific knowledge in traditional ways, including education, reading, and exchanging information with each other. In today’s world, using computer’s powerful functions, we have a new way to learn systematical, complete knowledge. In short, a study process in the new way is to search and learn some relationships. Next, we discuss concretely how to use the HAMNP books. In these books, there are three kinds of data and three pairs of important relations. Three kinds of data are (1) marine living sources (source); (2) secondary metabolites (compounds); and (3) pharmacological activities (pharm-activity). The three pairs of important relations are (1) relationship between source and compounds; (2) relationship between compounds and pharm-activity; and (3) relationship between source and pharm-activity. In the case of asking questions, each relation has two directions; hence, together there are six types of questions: Type 1: from known source to unknown compound Type 2: from known compound to unknown source Type 3: from known compound to unknown pharm-activity Type 4: from known pharm-activity to unknown compound Type 5: from known source to unknown pharm-activity Type 6: from known pharm-activity to unknown source (Figure 1)