JAX® Colony Management System Upgrade Released
JAX® NOTES Issue 509, 2008
The latest and significantly improved upgrade to the JAX® Colony Management System (JCMS), Version 3.0.3, has just been released. JCMS is a multi-user relational database management system for managing animal colonies in a research environment. It was developed for us with support from the NIH and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in response to increased demand for a system that would manage mouse colonies with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. Since its initial release in 1998, JCMS has been widely used and can perform the following tasks:
- Track animal status
- Track animal pedigrees
- Log genotypes
- Produce mating records
- Produce litter records
- Manage animal pens
- Track experimental data
- Print cage cards
- Produce various reports
- Enter bulk data
- Perform advanced database queries
Version 3.0.3 can track tissue samples (which may be associated with mice, matings, litters, or "other") through harvest, processing, and storage. Samples can be stored and tracked to very specific locations (e.g. to the exact location in a freezer or on a shelf).
The new JCMS version can be converted to a MySQL database (should be an advantage for larger work groups), which can run on Windows or Linux servers. The user interfaces are the same for all platforms.
As in earlier versions, Version 3.0.3 (along with a free MySQL converter) may be downloaded free from our website, www.jax.org/jcms. You can sign up for user support from the same website. If you already use JCMS 3.0.2 or an earlier version, an "upgrader" utility will be released soon.