Media Center

21-May-2024
Collaborator Release

Phytoplankton Genetically Sequenced at Sea for the First Time

Viking’s Initiative with UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and J. Craig Venter Institute Aims to Provide Better Understanding of the “World’s Lungs”

18-Apr-2024
Press Release

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

21-Mar-2024
Press Release

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

19-Mar-2024
Collaborator Release

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

11-Mar-2024
Workshop Alert

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

22-Feb-2024
Collaborator Release

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

30-Jan-2024
Press Release

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

10-Nov-2023
Press Release

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

Virtual Comparative Metagenomics

We have created an open virtualization format (OVF) package of JCVI's Metagenomics Reports (METAREP)- a high performance comparative metagenomics analysis tool. The software runs on a web server, retrieves data from two different database systems and uses R for statistical analysis. The new OVF...

Italy: Sites and Sailing

Saturday July 31st When I last wrote we had finished our 10 day sampling window in Italian waters. On Wednesday July 21st we arrived in Rome the same day Dr. Venter, Heather Kowalski, and Darwin the super boat dog had flown in from the states. We spent 3 days in Rome, most of the time was spent...

10 Days of Italian Sampling Coming to a Close

Tuesday July 20th On July 16th we finished our Straits of Messina sampling and headed into the Ionian and Adriatic Seas.  We sailed overnight and collected our Ionian Sea sample,  we continued  northeast and  on July 18th we collected our Adriatic...

HMP Consortium - St. Louis Missouri

Human Microbiome Project Consortium – September 2010 – St Louis, Missouri We received warm welcome messages from Dr George Weinstock and Dr Jane Petersen as well as a humorous welcome from Dr Larry Shapiro, Dean of Washington University Medical School.  It was wonderful to see so...

Straits of Messina Transect

Friday July 16th Today we woke up early and left our anchorage at Vulcano Island and headed to the Straits of Messina 20 miles away. The plan was to collect a sample at the north entrance, anchor for 5 hours to process the sample. Once the sample was completed then head to the middle of the...

Advance Access JCVI Metagenomics Reports Application Note

A significant JCVI informatics development is JCVI Metagenomics Reports, an open source Web 2.0 application designed to help scientists analyze and compare annotated metagenomics data sets. Users can download the application to upload and analyze their own metagenomics datasets. METAREP has...

Naples Harbor Sampling

Thursday July 15th After getting some sleep at anchorage in Ischia island we sailed for a few hours to the main harbor in Naples.  Over the years the Sorcerer II Expedition has collected samples in major ports around the world (Sydney, Halifax, Boston,  Panama, Cape Town, just to name...

Italian Sampling Continues-Unique Animal in Italian Waters!

Wednesday July 14th Monday July 12th we woke up early and left the anchorage in Capraia Island. We arrived at Ischia island at 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday the 14th. In those 48 hours we collected 6 samples. Two samples were collected in the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, two samples were collected over a...

Mediterranean Sampling Season Starts

Sunday July 11th 2010 On Thursday July 8th Sorcerer II set sail from Valencia Spain to start the Mediterranean season. Permits vary from country to country, Italy gave us 10 days to collect our samples, so we had to time our departure from Spain to fit our 10 day sampling window in Italy. As we...

15-May-2023
Science

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

10-May-2023
New York Times

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.

10-May-2023
Nature

First human ‘pangenome’ aims to catalogue genetic diversity

Researchers release draft results from an ongoing effort to capture the entirety of human genetic variation.

15-Mar-2023
Scientific American

Scientists Create the Smallest-Ever Moving Cell

Just two genes get tiny synthetic cells moving, offering clues to life’s evolution.

08-Mar-2023
GEN

From Sequencing to Sailing: Three Decades of Adventure with Craig Venter

In a plenary public appearance at the Molecular and Precision Med TRI-CON event in San Diego, a relaxed Venter reflected on his career highlights, controversies and future priorities for genomic medicine.

15-Dec-2022
Big Biology Podcast

Synthesizing life on the planet

What’s the smallest number of genes that cells need to grow and reproduce? Is it possible to synthesize minimal genomes and insert them into cells? What do minimal genomes teach us about life? An interview with John Glass, Ph.D.

08-Sep-2022
Reuters

Top scientists join forces to study leading theory behind long COVID

Several JCVI scientists will be contributing to the newly launched Long Covid Research Initiative — a collaboration of researchers, clinicians, and patients working to rapidly study and treat long Covid.

01-Aug-2022
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Hunting for deep-ocean plastics

Through the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, National Deep Submergence Facility, JCVI's Erin Garza, Ph.D. joins a deep sea expedition to search for ocean plastics aboard the HOV Alvin.

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