Two Applications of Information Extraction to Biological Science Journal Articles: Enzyme Interactions and Protein Structures

Information extraction technology, as defined and developed through the U.S. DARPA Message Understanding Conferences (MUCs), has proved successful at extracting information primarily from newswire texts and primarily in domains concerned with human activity. In this paper we consider the application of this technology to the extraction of information from scientific journal papers in the area of molecular biology. In particular, we describe how an information extraction system designed to participate in the MUC exercises has been modified for two bioinformatics applications: EMPathIE, concerned with enzyme and metabolic pathways; and PASTA, concerned with protein structure. Progress to date provides convincing grounds for believing that IE techniques will deliver novel and effective ways for scientists to make use of the core literature which defines their disciplines.