Media Center

25-Mar-2021
Collaborator Release

Scientists find evidence that novel coronavirus infects the mouth’s cells

NIH-funded findings point to a role for saliva in SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

18-Mar-2021
Press Release

Scientists map how iron, a critical mineral for survival, is processed by algae, a cornerstone of the ocean food web

Nearly forty proteins identified in the intracellular process, helping to build a conceptual overview of how iron is allocated within diatom cells

25-Feb-2021
Press Release

J. Craig Venter Institute Scientists to Investigate Role of Opioid Abuse in HIV and HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders Pathogenesis through $4.7M NIDA Grant

Study aims to identify candidate molecules to regulate HIV infection in the central nervous system in patients abusing opioids

27-Jan-2021
Press Release

Influenza A Virus Discovered in Heart Muscle Tissue Causing Damage Long After It Has Cleared from the Lungs

Strategies to inhibit necrotic cell death or to prevent mitochondrial damage should be pursued as possible therapies to reduce cardiac damage during influenza infections

22-Dec-2020
Press Release

Hamilton O. Smith, M.D., Synthetic Biology Pioneer and Nobel Laureate, to Step Down from Daily Duties at J. Craig Venter Institute

Dr. Smith will maintain advisory role as professor emeritus

17-Dec-2020
Collaborator Release

Scientists set a path for field trials of gene drive organisms

As genetically engineered organisms ramp up, a multidisciplinary coalition offers a framework for ethical, socially engaged and transparent field practices

27-Oct-2020
Collaborator Release

Study reveals mouth as primary source of COVID-19 infection, spread

UNC-Chapel Hill, NIH identify sites in the oral cavity where coronavirus can take hold

18-Jun-2020
Press Release

Biology in Art: Genetic Detectives ID Microbes Suspected of Slowly Ruining Humanity’s Treasures

DNA science may help restore, preserve historic works, unmask counterfeits

The trait elite baseball hitters share with Leonardo da Vinci: A “quick eye” with higher “frames per second.” A function of training, genetics, or both?

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Guest Speakers Marlo Gottfurcht Longstreet and Dean Ornish Inspire Guests at JCVI‘s “Life at the Speed of Light” Gala

On October 18, J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) hosted our “Life at the Speed of Light” black tie gala featuring special guests Dean Ornish, MD, and Marlo Gottfurcht Longstreet. JCVI welcomed 200 community leaders, sponsors and supporters including Representative Scott Peters, Susan...

Impact: Ebola Research Efforts at JCVI

We have all read the stories with concern about the rapid spread of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Africa. Now, with the first diagnosis of the virus in the United States, it is clear this virus is not under control. If not contained, Ebola poses a significant threat to the African continent and...

JCVI Scientists Join NASA-Funded Astrobiology Research Teams

Scientists from J. Craig Venter Institute are part of teams awarded grants from NASA to “study the origins, evolution, distribution, and future life in the universe.” Dr. Christopher Dupont is part of a team led by the University of California, Riverside and will study chemical energy...

Study Signals Bat Flu Unlikely to Jump to Humans

Bats species harbor a large number of viruses that cause human disease.  So, when the first influenza sequences from Guatemalan little yellow-shouldered bats were uncovered in 2009, the question arose of whether bat influenza viruses pose a threat to human health.  A collaborative...

H3Africa Update

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the UK-based Wellcome Trust, in partnership with the African Society of Human Genetics, developed a program to foster genomic and epidemiological research in African scientific institutions. The laboratory and computational infrastructure available...

J. Craig Venter at Recent Google Zeitgeist Conference [VIDEO]

Dr. J. Craig Venter recently spoke at a Google Zeitgeist conference in Arizona where he spoke on advances in genomics, synthetic biology, and DNA as the software of life.

La Jolla Community Celebrates Art and Science at Venter Institute Event

On Friday, September 12, the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) hosted a reception at its La Jolla campus to celebrate the installation of “LIFE FORCE,” an original painting by San Diego-based artist and architect Fred Gemmell. This spectacular piece now hangs prominently in the entry of...

Understanding Complex Data through Better Visualization

Recently, researchers at JCVI reported on the Rhizoctonia solani mitochondrial genome which was the largest fungal mitochondrion to be sequenced to date. We showed that its unusually large size was probably due to the expansion of multiple genetic elements that populated the genome in somewhat...

JCVI Research Impact

JCVI ranks in the top 1% of research institutions worldwide for research impact based on an analysis of Elsevier and Thomson Reuters data. The ranking was done by looking at institutional publication reach as seen through the number of citations referencing them....

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17-Jan-2024
Grow by Ginkgo

Getting Under the Skin

Amid an insulin crisis, one project aims to engineer microscopic insulin pumps out of a skin bacterium.

24-Oct-2023
Noema

Planet Microbe

There are more organisms in the sea, a vital producer of oxygen on Earth, than planets and stars in the universe.

29-Aug-2023
Vanity Fair

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.

21-Aug-2023
GEN

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.”

09-Aug-2023
Quanta Magazine

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.

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.

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