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Researchers design tools to develop vaccines more efficiently for African swine fever virus (ASFV)
Rockville, Maryland—March 26, 2024—Researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have developed a reverse-genetics system for African swine fever virus (ASFV). This new system will aid researchers in developing vaccines and in studying the pathogenesis and biology of ASFV, a highly contagious, deadly viral disease affecting domesticated and wild pigs, especially prevalent in Africa,...
Influenza A Virus Discovered in Heart Muscle Tissue Causing Damage Long After It Has Cleared from the Lungs
(Rockville, Maryland)—January 27, 2021—Scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) have discovered that Influenza A virus (IAV) is found in heart tissue after it has been cleared from the lungs in mouse models. Live IAV present during convalescence does not actively replicate, preventing development of antiviral inflammatory responses, thus cloaking it from the immune system. Undetected, the virus continues to disrupt mitochondrial function, causing a metabolic breakdown and...
Biowalk of Fame
There is a new “Biowalk of Fame” in Maryland, and our own Craig Venter was one of the first honorees receiving a plaque, which is there for all to see as you stroll through lovely Silver Spring. Other honorees include Dr. Martin Rodbell and Ben Carson. The event to honor the awardees was on April 22, which also it happens to be Earth Day. Although it rained heavily throughout the event, there were a large number of people in attendance including several local government...
Scientists develop most complete whole-cell computer simulation model of cell to date
LA JOLLA, CA—January 20, 2022—Scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, J. Craig Venter Institute, and Technische Universität Dresden have developed a computer model of the minimized synthetic cell, JCVI-syn3A, that accurately predicts the growth and molecular structure of its real-life analog. It is the most complete computer-simulated whole-cell model to date. The findings have been published in the journal Cell. The JCVI team has been doggedly pursuing...
JCVI Scientists Publish First Bacterial Genome Transplantation Changing One Species to Another
ROCKVILLE, MD — June 28, 2007 — Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) today announced the results of work on genome transplantation methods allowing them to transform one type of bacteria into another type dictated by the transplanted chromosome. The work, published online in the journal Science, by JCVI's Carole Lartigue, Ph.D. and colleagues, outlines the methods and techniques used to change one bacterial species, Mycoplasma capricolum into another, Mycoplasma...
Reading the blueprint of life
Thirty years ago, new thinking and computational advances enabled DNA sequencing firsts, including the human genome “Moving forward in science is as much unwinding the distorted thinking of the past as it is putting a clearer idea on the table.” —J. Craig Venter (interview with Richard Dawkins) Thirty years ago, a typical home computer CPU had around 3 million transistors. Today, a high-end consumer processor has around 184 billion, a staggering 60,000x increase. While this...
Of Jaws and Man
SINGAPORE AND ROCKVILLE, MD, December 21, 2006 — A joint team of scientists from Singapore A*STAR's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) and the United States-based J. Craig Venter Institute have completed an initial sequence of the elephant shark genome. By comparing this genome to the human genome they have discovered a large number of ancient DNA fragments in the human genome. These ancient DNA fragments in the human genome do not make proteins; instead they regulate...
Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Use Modifies the Sulfation of Sex Hormones.
Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is one of the most common medications used for management of pain in the world. There is lack of consensus about the mechanism of action, and concern about the possibility of adverse effects on reproductive health.
An agenda for personalized medicine.
Creation of a bacterial cell controlled by a chemically synthesized genome.
We report the design, synthesis, and assembly of the 1.08-mega-base pair Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0 genome starting from digitized genome sequence information and its transplantation into a M. capricolum recipient cell to create new M. mycoides cells that are controlled only by the synthetic chromosome. The only DNA in the cells is the designed synthetic DNA sequence, including "watermark" sequences and other designed gene deletions and polymorphisms, and mutations acquired during the...