Open-source data projects provide valuable access to research, and Nextstrain harnesses this data to promote public health through its "real-time snapshot of evolving pathogens." Readers new to the site may want to begin on the Docs tab. Here, users will find a brief introduction to the project, as well as various reference guides that explain how to navigate and contribute to the project. These materials are also accessible via the Help tab. Then, users can hop over to the datasets. Nextstrain provides data for various pathogens, including the seasonal influenza and the West Nile Virus. The SARS-CoV-2 genomic data (the scientific name for a strain of coronavirus) may be particularly of interest right now. The site has an entire section dedicated to maintaining this genomic data, with geographic indexes available in multiple languages. Nextstrain is supported by several major foundations, including the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the European Research Council, as well as by world-wide research groups that provide open-access data. For additional insights on the project, check out the blog or follow along on Twitter, @nextstrain.
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