Unsupervised machine learning provides tools for researchers to uncover latent patterns in large-scale data, based on calculated distances between observations. Methods to visualize high-dimensional data based on these distances can elucidate subtypes and interactions within multi-dimensional and high-throughput data. However, researchers can select from a vast number of distance metrics and visualizations, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The Mercator R package facilitates selection of a biologically meaningful distance from 10 metrics, together appropriate for binary, categorical and continuous data, and visualization with 5 standard and high-dimensional graphics tools. Mercator provides a user-friendly pipeline for informaticians or biologists to perform unsupervised analyses, from exploratory pattern recognition to production of publication-quality graphics.
CITATION STYLE
Abrams, Z. B., Coombes, C. E., Li, S., & Coombes, K. R. (2021). Mercator: A pipeline for multi-method, unsupervised visualization and distance generation. Bioinformatics, 37(17), 2780–2781. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btab037
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