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Tae Seok Moon, Ph.D. and Nan Zhu, Ph.D. join J. Craig Venter Institute faculty
JCVI continues to actively recruit faculty to expand core research areas, including human health and synthetic biology
Groundbreaking study reveals oral microbiome’s role in immune response and COVID-19 severity
Newly developed AI model shows that saliva is a better predictor of COVID-19 severity than existing blood tests
Scientists develop method to efficiently construct single-copy human artificial chromosomes (HACs)
This new tool will allow scientists to work in mammalian systems in ways only previously available in bacteria and yeast
HACs have wide potential research applications to synthetic biologists and may eventually aid in delivering DNA in clinical applications
With combined funding of 3,000,000 euros the BBVA Foundation’s Fundamentos Program supports five innovative exploratory research projects on core questions in basic science
JCVI work supported through The Physical Basis of Cell Division in Minimal and Synthetic cells (MINCELL) Fundamentos Program
Opentrons Announces New Robotics Education Initiative Demonstrating Commitment to Laboratory Automation for Students
12th Build-a-Cell Workshop hosted at J. Craig Venter Institute in La Jolla
The workshop will take place March 29, 2024 with registration closing March 19
New LongCOVID research launched by PolyBio’s global consortium of scientists
Funding will deepen research on the persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in LongCOVID patients and launch new clinical trials
J. Craig Venter Institute contracted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rapidly construct synthetic influenza genes
Genes will be used to help develop seasonal and pandemic vaccines, improving response time and vaccine efficacy
Coastal upwelling regions threatened by increased ocean acidification
Increased acidification shown to limit iron availability, a critical element for the survival of phytoplankton, the foundation of the oceanic food web
J. Craig Venter Institute scientists awarded five-year, $5.7M grant from NIH to develop phage treatment
Phage research accelerates with the rise of antibiotic resistance to address increasingly prevalent and difficult to treat bacterial infections
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SARS-CoV-2 Mutation Tracking
The Bacterial Viral Bioinformatic Resource Center (BV-BRC) is proud to introduce a new resource with the goal of providing live tracking of SARS-CoV-2 mutations. This real-time resource will provide regular reports focused on “Variants and Lineages of Concern” (VoCs/LoCs), and will serve as an early warning system for variants that are increasing in frequency in specific geographical locations.
JCVI Scientists and Interns Dramatically Trim Proteome Analysis Costs with New Lab-on-a-Filter Process
Through a happy accident and a keen mind, JCVI intern Rodrigo Eguez realized scientists might be able to pack their own filters rather than rely on those produced commercially at a significant cost savings. While playing around in the laboratory, he inadvertently disassembled a filter device...
Unique Antibody Pattern Discovered in COVID-19 ICU Patients May Be Key to Predicting Severe Outcomes
While news of promising COVID-19 vaccine trials is heartening, the fight to control infection rates and develop effective treatments will be an ongoing challenge for science for years to come. Gene Tan, PhD and his collaborators are working on identifying...
Synthetic Cell-Powered Lotion to Manage Type 1 Diabetes
Early last year we first talked about how researchers Yo Suzuki, PhD, and John Glass, PhD at JCVI set out to eliminate the need for type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients to receive insulin injections to manage blood glucose levels through a novel approach: developing a bacterial replacement for beta...
COVID-19 Further Complicating Flu Season
While the world is rightly focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to know that influenza is always a significant public health burden, and the combination of the pandemic and flu season could converge to become a perfect storm of infectious diseases. Influenza causes 3 to...
Sara Josephine Baker
At the beginning of the 20th century, many people remained skeptical of both germ theory and preventative medicine, but pioneering physician Dr. Sara Josephine Baker fought to revolutionize public health and is credited with saving tens of thousands of lives. After studying chemistry and...
JCVI Researchers Help Advance Our Understanding of Ocean Microbes, Developing New Tools and Protocols Through Large-Scale Study
The oceans cover over two-thirds of the Earth’s surface and contain an abundance of life including diverse populations of marine microbes. Studying the genetics, biochemistry and metabolism of these microbes has been one of JCVI’s long standing research initiatives and is...
Online Education Resources to Help With Your New “Normal”
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to our daily lives and routines, including for many of you the role of an at-home educator for your children due to open-ended school closures. While we also miss directly connecting with students from our community, JCVI remains committed...
Coronavirus Pandemic: Putting Comprehensive Genomic Data in the Hands of Frontline Researchers Worldwide is Paramount
According to the CDC, SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, has now been detected in more than 150 countries/locations internationally. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and in the United States it has been declared it a national emergency. As...
Characterization of Bacteria from the International Space Station Drinking Water
From a microbiology perspective, the International Space Station (ISS) is interesting considering its microgravity, increased radiation, low humidity and elevated carbon dioxide levels. Because of its isolation, and unique environment, it is vital to study the microorganisms that thrive there...
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Mirror Bacteria Research Poses Significant Risks, Dozens of Scientists Warn
Synthetic biologists make artificial cells, but one particular kind isn’t worth the risk.
Can CRISPR help stop African Swine Fever?
Gene editing could create a successful vaccine to protect against the viral disease that has killed close to 2 million pigs globally since 2021.
Getting Under the Skin
Amid an insulin crisis, one project aims to engineer microscopic insulin pumps out of a skin bacterium.
Planet Microbe
There are more organisms in the sea, a vital producer of oxygen on Earth, than planets and stars in the universe.
The Next Climate Change Calamity?: We’re Ruining the Microbiome, According to Human-Genome-Pioneer Craig Venter
In a new book (coauthored with Venter), a Vanity Fair contributor presents the oceanic evidence that human activity is altering the fabric of life on a microscopic scale.
Lessons from the Minimal Cell
“Despite reducing the sequence space of possible trajectories, we conclude that streamlining does not constrain fitness evolution and diversification of populations over time. Genome minimization may even create opportunities for evolutionary exploitation of essential genes, which are commonly observed to evolve more slowly.”
Even Synthetic Life Forms With a Tiny Genome Can Evolve
By watching “minimal” cells regain the fitness they lost, researchers are testing whether a genome can be too simple to evolve.
Privacy concerns sparked by human DNA accidentally collected in studies of other species
Two research teams warn that human genomic “bycatch” can reveal private information
Scientists Unveil a More Diverse Human Genome
The “pangenome,” which collated genetic sequences from 47 people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, could greatly expand the reach of personalized medicine.
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