Nanopublications: Small Package, Big FAIR Impact

Modified

Slideshow by Tobias Kuhn (Knowledge Pixels / VU Amsterdam).

FAIRagro Talk series — 1 June 2026, online. Press F for full-screen slide mode, Esc to return to outline.

Nanopublications: Small Package, Big FAIR Impact

Tobias Kuhn

Knowledge Pixels · VU Amsterdam

FAIRagro Talk · 1 June 2026

🎯 Takeaways

  • Nanopublications are small FAIR data packages
  • They can describe anything: data points, datasets, studies, messages, opinions, reviews, social links, etc.
  • They are the basis of an ecosystem that provides a globally integrated open knowledge graph
  • They are still rapidly evolving but ready to be used

The Nanodash web interface

Try it out: visit Nanodash and log in via ORCID

Step 1: visit Nanodash and log in via ORCID

Try it out: publish your introduction from your profile

Step 2: publish your introduction from your profile

Try it out: check the box and press Publish

Step 2: check the box and press Publish

What are nanopublications?

  • Smallest unit of attributable, structured knowledge
  • Three graphs: assertion, provenance, publication info
  • RDF, content-addressed, digitally signed
  • nanopub.net

The named graphs of a nanopublication

✨ How nanopublications are FAIR

  • Findable — globally unique, persistent identifiers (Trusty URIs)
  • Accessible — retrievable from an open, decentralized network
  • Interoperable — self-describing RDF using shared vocabularies
  • Reusable — provenance, license, and signature travel with each claim

🧩 Use cases

  • FAIR Digital Objects — a building block and unifying layer for FDOs
  • Vocabularies & ontologies — define and publish terms on the fly
  • Biodiversity domain modeling — e.g. taxon–environment relations
  • News items — structured, citable, machine-readable updates
  • Personal research profiles — talks attended, papers read, and more
  • Corrections & suggestions — feedback on existing work
  • FAIR implementation decisions — record choices and their rationale
  • … and much more

🏛️ The ecosystem at a glance

High-level architecture of the nanopublication ecosystem

🌐 A decentralized network of services

Nanopub Monitor: live map of nanopublication servers worldwide

monitor.knowledgepixels.com

🗄️ Reliable publishing

Nanopub Registry

  • Validates and stores published nanopublications
  • Copied across independent servers, so nothing gets lost
  • Records stay put — retracted when needed, never deleted

A network of interlinked nanopublications

🔍 Global querying

Nanopub Query

  • Makes all nanopublications searchable and discoverable
  • Organized by author and topic, with ready-made search templates
  • A separate layer, so searching never slows down publishing

🔌 Nanopub Elements

A news feed rendered from nanopublications with Nanopub Elements

Spaces

Shared, structured workspaces for research communities.

Types of Spaces
open-endedtime-limited
bringing units togetherAllianceConsortium
formal vesselOrganizationTaskforce
structuring into sub-unitsDivisionTaskunit
getting work doneGroupProject
coordinationProgramInitiative
outreachOutletCampaign
exchangeCommunityEvent
Roles & edit rights
corestructurecontentcomment
admin✓✓✓✓
maintainer✓✓✓
member✓✓
observer✓✓
anyone✓

🙏 Thank you

Questions?

Tobias Kuhn · tobias@knowledgepixels.com · @tkuhn@mastodon.social