dbcls news - Articles

Additional Open call for 2026 NIG-JOINT

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

At the National Institute of Genetics, in order to provide domestic and overseas researchers with the opportunity to collaborate, NIG-JOINT offers “Joint Research” and “Research Meeting” between researchers inside and outside of NIG.

A research article "ChatTogoVar: a TogoVar-based retrieval-augmented generation system for precise genomic variant interpretation" was published in Human Genome Variation

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A research article “ChatTogoVar: a TogoVar-based retrieval-augmented generation system for precise genomic variant interpretation” was published in Human Genome Variation. Nobutaka Mitsuhashi, Dr. Toyofumi Fujiwara and Dr. Atsuko Yamaguchi in DBCLS have contributed to this work. The article is open access and is available via the DOI link below.

A research article "Accurate SPARQL Generation via In-Context Learning and Schema-based Query Construction" was published in Bioinformatics

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A research article “Accurate SPARQL Generation via In-Context Learning and Schema-based Query Construction” was published in Bioinformatics. Dr. Toshiaki Katayama, Dr. Shuichi Kawashima and Dr. Yuki Moriya in DBCLS have contributed to this work. The article is open access and is available via the DOI link below.

Notice of Organizational Change (April 2026)

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Effective April 1, 2026, due to an organizational restructuring within the Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS), the Database Center for Life Science (DBCLS), formerly part of the Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research, has been reorganized as the Database Division for Life Science (DBCLS) under the BioData Science Initiative (BSI), National Institute of Genetics (NIG).

Release of “TogoMCP”: A Remote MCP Server Connecting AI and Life Science RDF Knowledge Bases

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

DBCLS has developed “TogoMCP,” a remote MCP server that connects RDF knowledge bases in the life sciences with AI. This enables access to the RDF Portal—which was traditionally queried using SPARQL—through natural language via AI systems such as ChatGPT.
At the same time, DBCLS has comprehensively renewed the RDF Portal, one of the world’s largest RDF knowledge bases in the life sciences. In addition to redesigning the website, DBCLS has advanced the automation of RDF data updates and restructured the knowledge base to make its structure and semantics more understandable for both humans and AI. With TogoMCP, increased use of the RDF Portal by AI is anticipated, and DBCLS aims to provide a life science knowledge infrastructure that is accessible and user-friendly for researchers, developers, and AI as well.