BAYAS: simplifying access to Bayesian analysis for biologists

TL;DR

BAYAS is a user-friendly web tool that makes Bayesian analysis accessible to biologists without requiring programming skills.

Contribution

BAYAS introduces a programming-free, web-based platform for Bayesian analysis tailored to biologists.

Findings

BAYAS includes modules for sample size planning, data evaluation, and analysis reporting.

The tool emphasizes transparency and reproducibility in Bayesian workflows.

BAYAS is freely available for use and open-source for modification.

Abstract

In biological research, complex and noisy biological systems with small effects are often studied with small sample sizes. Such a setting is ideal for Bayesian analysis as it supplements new data with prior knowledge and emphasizes uncertainty quantification. Unfortunately, the proper application of Bayesian analysis requires a degree of computational expertise beyond the training of many biologists.

We have developed BAYAS (BAYesian Analysis Simplified), a web-based tool that provides programming-free access to Bayesian workflows for numerous use cases. BAYAS comes with three modules: Planning for Bayesian determination of sample sizes; Evaluation for Bayesian analysis of experimental data; Report to make analyses transparent and reproducible.

BAYAS can be accessed freely at https://bayas.zmb.uni-due.de/app/bayas (server) and https://github.com/GitCJW/bayas_bioinformatics or https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15052467 (source).

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