Data integration in life sciences is, presently, at a conundrum. On the one hand the diversity of data is increasing as explosively as its volume but on the other hand the value of individual data sets can only be appreciated when enough of those distinct pieces of the systemic puzzle are put together. Consequently, it is just as imperative to have agreeable standard formats as it is that they are not enforced so strictly as to be an obstacle to reporting the very novel data that brings value to systemic integration. In this presentation the emerging use of semantic web technologies is highlighted as regards its practical implications for experimental biology and translational biomedical research. The new integrative technologies create tremendous opportunities for a wider participation by both individual and national initiatives into large scale international research efforts. They also create the challenge of locally developing fluid multidisciplinary capabilities which are still not the norm in the life sciences. A prototypic integrative infrastructure will be demonstrated to illustrate the obstacles and potential of ontology driven data processing that can be freely downloaded open source from www.s3db.org