Cambium: relaunched data sharing platform

Coinciding with the launch of the MRC CoRE in Restorative Neural Dynamics, today is the relaunch of the platform that has shared data from the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit. Now serving both the MRC CoRE and the Unit, it has been relaunched as 'Cambium'. Since 2018, the sharing platform has allowed registered users to download the data underlying our discoveries. It has served over 1,800 downloads from authenticated researchers, with the most-downloaded dataset having over 500.

Dataset classes on Cambium include:

• Recordings of brain activity from humans and rodents
• Scripts and code used for analysis of data
• Digital micrographs of brain tissue
• Code for modelling of neuronal networks
• Printable 3D models and microcontroller code

"cambium

nounˈkambɪəm

(botany) A layer of cells between the xylem and the phloem that is responsible for the secondary growth of roots and stems."

- wiktionary

"cambium, an Exchange, or Place where Merchants meet."

- John Kersey, Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum, 1708

'Cambium', being a growing layer surrounding the main supportive core wood in trees, was chosen as a concept complementary to our 'CoRE' (MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Restorative Neural Dynamics). The older meaning of a place of exchange fits with the remit of sharing our data.