Neuroinformatics © Copyright 2007 by Humana Press Inc. All rights of any nature whatsoever are reserved. 1539-2791/07/1–16/$30.00 (Online) 1559-0089 DOI: 10.1385/NI:5:1:1 Original Article Web-Based Method for Translating Neurodevelopment From Laboratory Species to Humans Barbara Clancy,* ,1,2 Brandon Kersh, 1 James Hyde, 1 Richard B. Darlington, 3 K. J. S. Anand, 2 and Barbara L. Finlay 3 1 Department of Biology, University of Central Arkansas, Conway,Arkansas 72035; 2 Department of Pediatrics, Neurobiology & Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock,Arkansas 72205; and 3 Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Uris Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853 79 *Author to whom all correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. E-mail: barbaraclancy@mac.com; clancybarbara@UAMS.edu Abstract Biomedical researchers and medical pro- fessionals are regularly required to compare a vast quantity of neurodevelopmental litera- ture obtained from an assortment of mammals whose brains grow at diverse rates, including fast developing experimental rodent species and slower developing humans. In this article, we introduce a database-driven website, which was created to address this problem using statistical-based algorithms to integrate hundreds of empirically derived developing neural events in 10 mammalian species (http://translatingtime.net/). The site, based on a statistical model that has evolved over the past decade, currently incorporates 102 dif- ferent neurodevelopmental events obtained from 10 species: hamsters, mice, rats, rabbits, spiny mice, guinea pigs, ferrets, cats, rhesus monkeys, and humans. Data are arranged in a Structured Query Language database, which allows comparative brain development measured in postconception days to be converted and accessed in real time, using Hypertext Preprocessor language. Algorithms applied to the database also allow predictions for dates of specific neurodevelopmental events where empirical data are not available, including for the human embryo and fetus. By designing a web-based portal, we seek to make these comparative data readily avail- able to all those who need to efficiently esti- mate the timing of neurodevelopmental events in the human fetus, laboratory species, or across several different species. In an effort to further refine and expand the applicability of this database, we include a mechanism to submit additional data. Index Entries: Bioinformatics; comparative development; cross-species database; humans; maturational timetables. (Neuroinformatics DOI: 10.1385/NI:5:1:1)