dd@beta.lanl.gov (Dan Davison) (07/06/89)
[the following is the message that appeared on the BIONET login banner July 1] Dear BIONET Users: As many of you know from our bulletin board postings over the last year, the BIONET grant was up for renewal. A special study section was formed to review the Resource and a site visit was conducted. Unfortunately the BIONET Resource was not recommended for further funding primarily due to the opinion of the site committee that the requirement for a strong research program had not been met. Research, in addition to BIONET's service, training, and communications functions, is required by the NIH Division of Research Resource regulations. After receiving this decision, we explored other methods of obtaining funding in an attempt to preserve what we had every reason to believe was a valuable service to the research community. Currently, for example, BIONET is used for over 60 searches of the various sequence databases every day of the month! We were granted an extension of funding by the NIH which allowed us time to appeal and also plan for an orderly phase out of the Resource should this be necessary. We regret to have to inform you now that BIONET will cease operations on September 30th in its current form. Because of this we must alert you to arrange as soon as possible for alternative means of securing the services provided by BIONET. Files will be maintained on-line until November 30th and some staff assistance will be available to aid you in downloading files until that date. Alternatively your data can be stored on tape and mailed to you at cost. For those who cannot make other arrangements prior to the end of September, and for those who may decide to choose this option, IntelliGenetics will offer access to the core BIONET software on a commercial timesharing basis. Please note that the rates for this service will be higher than the current annual BIONET fee of $400 since the vast majority of BIONET's costs are currently subsidized by the NIH Division of Research Resources. Refunds for unused telecommunications fees will also be provided after September 30th, or else the remaining funds can be applied towards other options such as timesharing. GenBank (an NIH contract funded by NIGMS, NLM, and DOE and operated by IntelliGenetics and Los Alamos National Laboratory) is in the process of upgrading the services it provides to its on-line users. This currently includes access to the GenBank database. However the GenBank contract specifically excludes provision of comprehensive analytical software of the type supported by BIONET. [ paragraph specific to Bionet users deleted] Sincerely, David Kristofferson, Ph.D. BIONET Resource Manager 415-962-7339 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments in the next posting. dan davison/theoretical biology/t-10 ms k710/los alamos national laboratory los alamos, nm 875545/dd@lanl.gov (arpa)/dd@lanl.uucp(new)/..cmcl2!lanl!dd As always, I speak for myself, and only for myself. -- dan davison/theoretical biology/t-10 ms k710/los alamos national laboratory los alamos, nm 875545/dd@lanl.gov (arpa)/dd@lanl.uucp(new)/..cmcl2!lanl!dd