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How to Use NCBI Database. The NCBI database comprises multiple databases offering information
on and analyses of molecular and genetic processes controlling health and disease. New database
users will need an overview to navigate this wealth of information. You will need and internet
access. Step 1. Go to the National Center for Biotechnology Information website to find
out what NCBI is. The NCBI databases are a division of the National Library of Medicine
-- part of the U.S. Government’s National Institutes of Health. Step 2. Go to the Entrez
tutorial. Entrez is NCBI’s cross-database search tool. The tutorial offers an overview
of doing a global search of NCBI’s multiple databases. Step 3. Go to the Entrez search
system website to search major databases, including PubMed, Protein and Nucleotide Sequences,
Protein Structures, and Complete Genomes. Choose to search one particular database via
the Entrez search pull-down menu. Step 4. Enter a term, such as "bacteria" into the
search slot, and click the Go button to do a text-based search of all NCBI databases.
Explore the search results. Step 5. Focus your search. For example, use Entrez’s Nucleotide
database: Click the Limits tab; select a specific search field, such as "Author," "Journal,"
or "Protein Name," or select a molecule type or gene location. Then click Go. Use the Preview/Index
option in the Nucleotide database to view a selection of keywords commonly used in searches.
Step 6. Explore articles in the search results. Read an article by clicking on its link. Article
details can include authors, definitions, and sequence numbers. To save and retrieve
all your prior search results, register for an account in My NCBI. Step 7. Analyze the
database information using BLAST, another NCBI search tool. BLAST compares similarities
between gene sequences and helps identify gene family members. Did you know Humans share
over 95 percent of their genetic makeup with chimpanzees, making them our closest living
relatives.