Most scientific data does not lead to the discoveries it could. For every 100 sets of data created, about 80 stay unused in labs, 20 are shared but seldom reused, fewer than two follow FAIR standards, which are rules to make data findable, accessible, interoperable (able to work with other data), and reusable, and only one usually sparks new findings. This causes delays in cancer treatments, weak climate models, and studies that cannot be repeated.
Frontiers, an open-science publisher, has started Frontiers FAIR² Data Management, the first complete service using artificial intelligence (AI) to handle research data. It combines steps like curation (organizing data), compliance checks (ensuring rules are met), AI-ready packaging, peer review (expert checks), an interactive portal, certification, and long-term hosting into one process. This makes data reusable and gives credit to creators, helping research funded now lead to quicker advances in health, sustainability (long-term environmental balance), and technology.
How it works
FAIR² builds on FAIR principles with an open specification that makes every dataset ready for AI and reusable by people and machines. The AI Data Steward, powered by Senscience (a Frontiers project), finishes tasks like curating data and creating metadata (descriptions of data) in minutes instead of months. With one submission, researchers get four results: a certified data package, a peer-reviewed and citable data article, an interactive portal with visuals and AI chat, and a FAIR² certificate. These include quality checks and simple summaries that help non-experts understand and combine data from different fields.
Pilot datasets show its use. One covers SARS-CoV-2 virus variants, linking protein structures to binding data for better pandemic planning. Another harmonizes brain injury MRI scans (magnetic resonance imaging, a body scanning method) from multiple centers for biomarker discovery. An environmental dataset tracks emissions and growth in 43 countries for climate policy. An atoll biodiversity set (coral island life variety) aids conservation.
Researchers say it builds trust in data reuse, rewards creators, and speeds solutions to big challenges. Each reuse increases the original data's value, ensuring no work is wasted and scientists get recognition.