Genomics data sharing

Recent technological advances have allowed the unprecedented generation of large data sets in the biological sciences. Gaining the most value from this generation requires the data to be distributed and shared more widely so that multiple groups may make use of it. This brings about a number of technical and social challenges, and different approaches have been developed to resolve them. In this chapter, we introduce the concept and principles of data sharing, we discuss two data sharing methods, sharing through an archive and sharing through a data commons, we then provide a case example from the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) consortium, sharing data in resource-limited regions. We also discuss the overall challenges associated with data sharing, as well as Beacons and the associated security and privacy concerns.