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JCVI/AADR Fall Focused Symposium

The JCVI/AADR Fall Focused Symposium: Integrating Omic Datasets Towards Translation will be held on November 14-15, 2019 at the J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, Calf. Topics in this symposium include an introduction to multiomic approaches, advance analysis of metagenomes and metatranscriptomes in caries disease, clinical relevance of multiomics in periodontal treatments, omics in clinical oral health disparities and more.

Combining Antibiotics, Researchers Deliver One-Two Punch against Ubiquitous Bacterium

By combining two well-established antibiotics for the first time, a scientific team led by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center has delivered a “double whammy” against the pervasive Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a potentially deadly form of bacteria that is a major source of hospital-based infections. In a recent Journal of Infectious Diseases study, investigators showed using two antibiotic drugs to...

New Sequencing Technologies Enable Better and Faster Understanding of the Human Microbiome

Humans have trillions of different species of microorganisms living inside and on the human body. These microbes colonize on the skin, gut, oral cavity, vagina, internal organs, and circulating fluids, and are called the human microbiome. The human microbiome plays profound roles in health and disease. Since the first human microbiome study reported by the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in 2006, researchers have gained unprecedented knowledge on how the microbiome influences human health and...

Human Microbiome Research has Massive Potential for Health Applications

Thirteen years ago, a team led by J. Craig Venter Institute President, Karen Nelson, Ph.D., published the first major human microbiome study, radically changing the way we look at human health and the role the microbes that inhabit each of us play in disease.  This seminal publication was a tipping point that lead to numerous new areas of research. Currently, only 1% of all microbiomes are guiding applications in health, food systems and ecosystem resources, leaving enormous potential for...

Scientist Spotlight: Lauren Oldfield

Since high school, Lauren Oldfield, PhD found that science was her calling. It started with a love of reading encouraged by her mom and grandmother, both avid readers, and weekly trips to the public library. Books by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston were staples in her grandmother’s collection. After devouring “The Hot Zone,” a fictionalized account of an almost outbreak of Ebola in the United States, microbiology and the study of infectious diseases became her...

J. Craig Venter will deliver the Mendel Lecture June 18th at the European Human Genetics Conference.

Zymo Research Recognized by NASA for its Support of Research Aboard the International Space Station

IRVINE, Calif., June 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zymo Research recently received recognition and appreciation from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Human Research Program for their support and involvement in the development of a specialized DNA/RNA Shield™ Swab Collection Device. This device is a critical component for the research being conducted by The Human Health Countermeasures (HHC) Collaborative aboard the International Space Station. The HHC's aim is to...

Oral bacteria 'battle royale' helps explain how a pathogen causes hospital infections

Hundreds of different bacterial species are living inside your mouth. Some are highly abundant, while others are scarce. A few of these oral bacteria are known pathogens. Others are benign, or even beneficial. Scientists know the genetic makeup of about 70 percent of oral bacteria. What they don't know is which species would live the longest without nutrients in a "battle royale"--so they decided to find out. The results help explain how certain dangerous bacteria are able to persist in a...

When Starved, Dangerous Oral Bacteria Hang On

J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) postdoctoral fellow, Jonathon Baker, PhD and a team of researchers from JCVI, University of Washington, the University of California, Los Angeles, and The Forsyth Institute recently published their findings from the first study to examine the ecological dynamics of the oral microbiome during long-term starvation. It is well-understood that many bacteria have evolved to survive adverse environmental events such as starvation, desiccation, and rapid changes in...

How to Bake a (Fungal) Turkey

From the kitchen of Stephanie Mounaud, Scientific Project Manager at JCVI Ingredients Media base (see media recipe) Agar Aspergillus terreus (multiple strains) Aspergillus niger Aspergillus fumigatus Aspergillus oryzae Pencillium marneffi Aspergillus flavus Instructions Start with a complex mixture of chemicals to make trace elements media. Sprinkle a little agar in there to get things...