RERF databases and implications for future studies

Many studies have been conducted by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) to assess the radiation effects on human beings of atomic bombs, and numerous data have been collected, including records of medical examinations and questionnaires, analytical results, inventories of bio-samples and published or unpublished documentation. Some of those data have been stored and analysed since the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (later reorganised as RERF) was established in 1947. RERF has made an effort to establish an archival database system so that an RERF researcher can access data at any time without difficulty. Under development is a new database system with the capability to handle a very large amount of data and permit future bioinformatics analyses of data, such as that required in genomics and proteomics analyses. (authors)