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Human Vaccines Project Launches San Diego Research Hub with UC San Diego, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla Institute, The Scripps Research Institute
Remote Italian Village Could Harbor Secrets of Healthy Aging
Researchers will examine 300 Italian residents, all over 100 years old
First Minimal Synthetic Bacterial Cell Designed and Constructed by Scientists at Venter Institute and Synthetic Genomics, Inc.
Cell, JCVI-syn3.0, was minimized to just 473 genes
TSRI and JCVI Scientists Find Popular Stem Cell Techniques Safe
What Makes A Bacterial Species Able to Cause Human Disease?
Global effort produces first cross-species genomic analysis of Leptospira, a bacterium that can cause disease – and death – in targeted mammals, including humans
Novel Herpes Virus Isolated from Bat Cells
Venter Institute, International Team of Researchers Publish Paper Outlining Key Genes in Toxoplasma gondii Strains that Contribute to Virulence
T. gondii, one of the most prevalent parasites affecting mammals, infects more than 1 billion people worldwide
Tick genome reveals secrets of a successful bloodsucker
NIH-funded study could lead to new tick control methods
GW researcher tests new method for rapid detection of infection in wounds
A new method for testing bacteria in wounds, published in Wound Repair and Regeneration, could lead to lower health care costs, minimize drug resistance, and improve patient outcomes
$52,000 awarded to Dr. Richard Scheuermann for MS Research
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Lake Sampling Starts with Lake Siso, Global Lake Sampling (GLS)
May 8th 2010 Early on Saturday May 8th Chris and I headed to the University of Girona, which is located about 69 kilometers (42 miles) from Blanes, to setup our sampling gear in a aboratory on campus. We were a bit exhausted from the long drive the day before and lack of sleep due to lots of...
Back on The Road, Mar Menor to Blanes, Spain
May 7th 2010 After a successful day of sampling in Mar Menor and a great local dinner of lobster paella, Chris and I loaded up the van and got back on the road early Friday morning. We had a 757 kilometer (470 miles) drive ahead of us to arrive in Blanes to meet with a team of collaborators...
The Green Lagoon — Sampling in Albufera de Valencia
During our sampling in Spain last year Chris and I met up with Francisco Rodriguez-Valera. Francisco had some great suggestions for sampling sites and one of them was Albufera de Valencia, a shallow hypertrophic fresh water lagoon, located just 30 minutes drive south of Valencia . When...
Road Sampling Starts in Mar Menor, Spain
Before sampling was to resume on Sorcerer II, a 2 week multiple-site road sampling trip was planned. Chris Dupont arrived in Valencia a day after me, in the next two days we would load up a giant rental van and hit the road. On Wednesday May 5th we drove the 322 kilometers (200 miles) from...
Return to Sorcerer II, The Mediterranean Season
Hello everyone! On May 2nd I flew from San Diego to rejoin Sorcerer II in Valencia Spain. Sorcerer II has been in Spain since our last sample in November, during that time her crew has been very busy upgrading systems and getting the rig certified. Sorcerer II is looking great and is ready for...
Looking for a Few Good Genomes (to sequence)!
The JCVI is one of three centers funded by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) to provide sequencing and genotyping services to the infectious disease community. We are continually looking for researchers who would like to have organisms of research interest to...
Influences of trace metals on biological evolution
Scientists show how trace metal chemistry and global changes in oxygen have influenced the evolution of metalloproteins and the Eukaryotes A paper is being published in PNAS this week about how the varying abundance of trace metals in the environment has influenced biological...
JCVI Scientists Recognized by ASM
Drs. Karen E. Nelson and Kenneth H. Nealson are both being recognized by the American Academy of Microbiology (ASM) tomorrow, May 26, 2010. Karen has been elected to Fellowship in the ASM. She is one of seventy-eight new members that have been selected through a peer-review process based on...
Scientist Spotlight: Hamilton O. Smith and Clyde A. Hutchison III
Editor’s note: Clyde Hutchison died on September 27, 2025. Less than a month later, Hamilton Smith died on October 25, 2025. This post memorializes their dear friendship and the quest to construct the first bacterium with a synthetic genome in 2010. Their friendship endured and their work...
Happy DNA Day!
This past March, we had a great time participating in the science programs in San Diego. We ended the month with the SD Science Festival with over 30,000 participants. It was such a busy day - I forgot to take pictures. The venue was Petco Park with hundreds of exhibits and hands-on...
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The race to stop mirror organisms
If created, these versions of the building blocks of life could lead to environmental and ecological disaster
J. Craig Venter Describes a Human Genomics Revolution Still In Progress
Despite profound impact on bio-medical research, progress in understanding has been slow
Scientist renowned for study of adolescent brains named president of J. Craig Venter Institute
Anders Dale says he will move roughly $10 million in NIH funding from UCSD to JCVI.
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.”
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