Importance of negations and experimental qualifiers in biomedical literature

A general characteristic of most biomedical disciplines is their primarily experimental character. Discoveries are obtained through molecular biology and biochemical techniques that allow understanding of biological processes at the molecular level. To qualify biological events, it is of practical significance to detect specific types of negations that can imply either that a given event is not observed under specific conditions or even the opposite, that a given event is true by altering the bio-entities studied (e.g. introducing specific modifications like mutations). Of special interest is also to determine if a detected assertion is linked to experimental support provided by the authors. Finding experimental qualifier cues and detecting experimental technique mentions is of great interest to the biological community in general and particularly for annotation databases. A short overview of different types of negations and biological qualifiers of practical relevance will be provided.