Dealing with data: upgrading infrastructure.

![Figure][1] CREDIT: Y. FITZPATRICK, USING [WWW.WORDLE.NET][2]/ SCIENCE The special section on Dealing with Data (11 February, p. [692][3]) showed that data currently reside in a clumsy network of poorly linked databases of unknown quality. It is a cottage industry trying to participate in an international environment. We need to replace this poorly organized network with an international framework for a collaborative data infrastructure ([ 1 ][4]). The new system should provide secure persistent storage, data identifiers, authenticity and workflow support for data mining, and other applications to access data for multidisciplinary interests. It should be not a grand unified service but a number of separate ones; data should be controlled by the generators and owners and operated by a number of public and/or private services who adhere to common standards. The drive for this service will become reality when researchers make it a priority for economic and efficiency reasons. Along with adopting the new data structure, we must develop the appropriate legal and financial models to foster trust in the service. We must also discuss the plan internationally and agree on next steps to coordinate the change. 1. [↵][5]High Level Expert Group on Scientific Data, “Riding the wave: How Europe can gain from the rising tide of scientific data” (European Commission, October 2010); . [1]: pending:yes [2]: http://WWW.WORDLE.NET [3]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.331.6018.692 [4]: #ref-1 [5]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text"