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Scientists Gather for Microbial Genomics Conference
A decade after the dawn of the genomics era, some of the world's top scientists in the field of microbial genomics are gathering in Halifax, Canada, for the International Conference on Microbial Genomes. Speakers will discuss metagenomics, comparative genomics, population processes, genome evolution and environmental genomics.
Venter Institute Studies Microbes Living in Air
Air Genome Project to Sample Air Using Whole Genome Shotgun Sequencing
Sifting Through Fruitfly Sequences, Scientists Discover New Wolbachias
Finding the genomic equivalent of gold nuggets in the rough ore of a much larger set of data, TIGR scientists and collaborators have discovered the genomes of three new types of the microbe Wolbachia in fruitfly sequence data.
Venter Institute to Sequence More Than 100 Key Marine Microbes in One Year
Data To Help Scientists Study Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution, and Health
Genome of Deadly Amoeba Shows Surprising Complexity; Study Reveals Evidence for Lateral Gene Transfer from Bacteria
The genome sequence of the parasitic amoeba Entamoeba histolytica, a leading cause of severe diarrheal disease in developing countries, includes an unexpectedly complex repertoire of sensory genes as well as a variety of bacterial-like genes that contribute to the organism's unique biology. TIGR scientists led the project, which presents the first genome-wide study of an amoeba. About 50 million people a year are infected by the parasite, which causes as many as 100,000 deaths annually.
Scientists Decipher Genome of a Fungus That Causes Life-Threatening Infections in Persons With Impaired Immunity
Cryptococcus Study Sheds Light On How Fungi Cause Disease
Scientists Decipher Genome of Bacterium that Helps Clean Up Major Groundwater Pollutants
Cryptococcus Study Sheds Light On How Fungi Cause Disease
Scientists Reveal Molecular Secrets of the Malaria Parasite
Groundbreaking Research Project May Help Boost Vaccine Development
Genome Comparison of Four Campylobacter Strains Yields New Genetic Markers and Clues to Virulence
In a study that could benefit medical and food-safety research, scientists have used the tools of comparative genomics to find new clues about why some strains of the bacterium <em>Campylobacter</em> - which each year cause more than 400 million cases of gastrointestinal disease - are more virulent than others. The analysis is helping researchers develop more comprehensive detection methods for analyzing human and environmental isolates of the bacteria.
Microbe's Genome Reveals Insights Into Ocean Ecology
Unexpected findings about the genetic makeup of a marine microbe have given scientists a new perspective on how bacteria make a living in the ocean - a view that may prove useful in wider studies of marine ecology. The analysis by TIGR and collaborators of the DNA sequence of Silicibacter pomeroyi found that the metabolic strategies of marine bacterioplankton are more diverse and less conventional than previously thought.
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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 experiences. We...
Recomb - Computational Proteomics
I recently attended the Recomb satellite conference on Computational Proteomics (downloads for talk and poster) in San Diego, CA. It was a kind of homecoming for me. I was a computational proteomics researcher at UCSD as a grad student with Vineet Bafna. Many of my classmates were still there, as...
A Positive Charge
I’m thinking of the day’s schedule school visit, the activity and the positive charge it will produce in me and the students. I get so excited during our school visits. It’s like the feeling I get on Saturday morning while watching my favorite cartoons. (Yes, I still watch...
We Had Fun with Genomics!
Wow! It’s been an exciting week!! Crystal Snowden and I flew to San Diego Friday, March 5th – jumped off the plane and the fun began! We went straight to the lab and set up for BEWiSE and prepped for Expanding Your Horizons (EYH). We are really fortunate to have such a great team in the San...
Scientist Spotlight: Orianna Bretschger
Most of us have never thought about how to make more water or cleaner water or develop unique sources of energy but that’s exactly what Orianna Bretschger does at JCVI. She is working at the intersection of engineering, physics, and biology to design small machines powered by bacteria that can...
Having Fun with Genomics
I am the generation after landing on the moon. As a child, I don’t recall having any science inspiration. I was fortunate to have parents that made it possible for me and my siblings to get a very good education. I went to a small parochial school outside of Washington, DC. It was a great school...
AGBT, Marco Island 2010
I just got back from AGBT in Marco Island, Florida and I am still in awe. As noted in the name, this conference highlights advances in both genome biology and technology. The biology seemed to be very human genome centric. Many of the talks presented full genome sequences of cancer genomes or...
Influenza H1N1pdm sequencing project overview
Since 2004, the JCVI Influenza Genome Sequencing Project, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has sequenced thousands of human, swine, and avian influenza isolates from collections around the world to provide researchers with a better understanding of the...
High Impact Science in Antarctica
Big changes in store for the Mertz Polynya: in February 2010 iceberg 9B9 collided with the Mertz Glacier, breaking the 70 km floating glacier off at the base. The Mertz Polynya was extensivley sampled by scientists at the JCVI in the summer of 2007/08, and this metagenomic survey will form an important baseline for evaluating on-going changes in the area.
How AI can help us decode immunity
Artificial intelligence and machine learning will be the keys to unraveling how the human immune system prevents and controls disease
Construction of an Escherichia coli genome with fewer codons sets records
The biggest synthetic genome so far has been made, with a smaller set of amino-acid-encoding codons than usual — raising the prospect of encoding proteins that contain unnatural amino-acid residues.
Public Health is the Next Big Thing at UC San Diego
Researchers have swapped the genome of gut germ E. coli for an artificial one
By creating a new genome, scientists could create organisms tailored to produce desirable compounds
Genetically modified bacteria-killing viruses used on patient for first time
Hair claimed to belong to Leonardo da Vinci to undergo DNA testing
Critics, however, argue that this effort is flawed from the beginning
Students learn about genomics, a life in science, at J. Craig Venter Institute
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