EWAS Open Platform 2026: a deeply integrated resource for epigenome-wide association studies

Abstract

Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) has become an indispensable approach for elucidating the epigenetic basis of complex traits. EWAS Open Platform (https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/ewas/) includes three main components: EWAS Atlas (curated associations from publications), EWAS Data Hub (normalized DNA methylation array data), and EWAS Toolkit (one-stop analysis services). Here, we present a new release of EWAS Open Platform with the following significant updates and enhancements: (i) Expanded information: EWAS Atlas houses over 800 000 associations and incorporates an additional 17 000 curated causal relationships. EWAS Data Hub contains >180 000 batch-corrected samples, which incorporate data from newly added Illumina MethylationEPIC v2.0 BeadChip (935K) as well as trait-specific methylation profiles. EWAS Toolkit now provides an online batch correction tool and an interactive epigenetic causal network. (ii) Enhanced interoperability: data, knowledge, and toolkit are fully interconnected through a unified retrieval, offering integrated summaries and visualization capabilities. (iii) Artificial intelligence (AI)-based service: the platform is newly equipped with an AI-assisted question-answering service, allowing users to interactively explore EWAS-related questions and generate tailored insights. Taken together, EWAS Open Platform has undergone a significant upgrade across data resources, analytical tools, and service functionalities, offering more advanced support for unraveling complex molecular mechanisms from an epigenomic perspective.