Which Genes Are Switched On Screensaver
The Which Genes Are Switched On screensaver shows gene-expression experiments in EMBL-EBI's Expression Atlas, key-less. Dates arrive as dd-mm-yyyy, which sorts wrongly as a string and parses wrongly as ISO — 04-02-2016 is February, not April — so the pipeline reorders them before doing either. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
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How the Which Genes Are Switched On screensaver works
The saver reads the source described above and draws it on a canvas — no account, no tracking.
Gene-expression experiments in EMBL-EBI's Expression Atlas, key-less. Dates arrive as dd-mm-yyyy, which sorts wrongly as a string and parses wrongly as ISO — 04-02-2016 is February, not April — so the pipeline reorders them before doing either.
It refreshes on a schedule, so what you see stays current.
Colours can be changed in settings; nothing is stored beyond your own browser.
About Expression Atlas
Expression Atlas, run by EMBL-EBI, is a resource for gene expression across species and biological conditions. It reports studies that measure how active genes are in a given tissue, cell type, disease state or treatment. RNA-seq data are processed through a single pipeline, iRAP, and microarray experiments are provided with normalised intensities, so studies from many laboratories can be compared.
The experiment list has two kinds of study: baseline experiments and differential experiments. Each has an accession such as E-MTAB-7887. In the ArrayExpress archive, the E-MTAB prefix marks experiments submitted in MAGE-TAB format, through a spreadsheet tool retired in 2014 or through Annotare. The atlas covers dozens of species, not only humans and mice.
Gene expression measures how much RNA is made from a gene, which does not map directly to how much protein is present or to what a cell is doing. An experiment’s appearance in the list says nothing about whether its conclusions hold up.
A worked example
Gene-expression experiments in EMBL-EBI's Expression Atlas, key-less. Dates arrive as dd-mm-yyyy, which sorts wrongly as a string and parses wrongly as ISO — 04-02-2016 is February, not April — so the pipeline reorders them before doing either.
Settings & tips
- Accent and Background recolour the display.
- Every value on screen comes from the live source — nothing is simulated.
- Press ESC to leave fullscreen.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this real data?
- Yes — it comes from the source named on this page and is refreshed on a schedule.
- Is a key needed?
- No. This source is fully key-less.
- Is it free?
- Yes, and it runs entirely in your browser.
- What does an accession like E-MTAB mean?
- It is an ArrayExpress accession. The E-MTAB prefix marks experiments submitted in MAGE-TAB format, through a spreadsheet tool (retired in 2014) or through Annotare.
- Which species does the atlas cover?
- Many. Expression Atlas reports coverage of dozens of species, so it reaches well beyond human biology.
- Does expression equal protein?
- No. Gene expression here measures RNA activity, which does not map directly to how much protein is present.