ALBUQUERQUE, NM (GenomeWeb News) — The rate at which data are being produced shows no signs of slowing and, according to Philip Bourne, the new associate director for data science at the National Institutes of Health, is still increasing.

During a keynote lecture at the Association of Biomedical Resource Facilities annual conference, held here this week, Bourne said that by 2020 the global digital universe is forecasted to comprise some 40 trillion gigabytes, though he noted that social media makes up good chunk of that data.