Search
Policy Research
J. Craig Venter Institute’s policy research focuses on understanding and anticipating the societal implications of 21st century biology. We remain committed to educating policy makers on the possible implications of emerging science so that they’re able to create guidelines that will maximize the positive and avoid the negative outcomes on society.
BREAD: Toward Development of a Vaccine for Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP)
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides (Mmm), is an economically very important livestock disease within Africa that limits the availability of protein sources for nutrition and restricts trade. The current control relies on a live vaccine that has shortcomings, such as, limited efficacy and short duration of immunity. International efforts to create a vaccine to protect against CBPP have been thwarted because of an almost complete lack of...
Characterization of <em>Burkholderia</em> Persistence Determinants and Antibiotic Resistance
Melioidosis, a serious disease endemic to tropical regions of Southeast Asia, northern Australia, Africa, the Middle East, China, India, and South America is caused by the motile Gram-negative bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp). Bp is intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics. Additionally, surviving a melioidosis infection confers no immunity to subsequent challenge with Bp nor are there vaccines that are protective against melioidosis. A major concern in the management of melioidosis...
Revealing Roles of Uncultivated Species in the Oral Microbiome
Many human microbial infectious diseases including oral caries are polymicrobial in nature, and closely associated with ecological conditions of the microbial communities. Oral caries disease is one of the most prevalent and costly bacterial infections in humans. Understanding the metabolism and gene expression profiles as well as inter-species interactions within these complex microbial communities are necessary steps in studying the diseases and finding new treatment solutions. While many new...
A Pilot Gut Microbiome study to evaluate TEDDY Infectious Agents
Type 1 Diabetes mellitus (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by a loss of function of insulin producing beta cells in pancreatic islets of langerhans leading to insulin insufficiency. Published studies have suggested that T1D results from environmental triggers acting on genetically susceptible individuals and that microbial infection and their immunological consequences are suspected to take part in the pathogenesis. Altered microbial diversity in the gut microbiota has been shown to...
First Self-Replicating Synthetic Bacterial Cell
Genomic science has greatly enhanced our understanding of the biological world. It is enabling researchers to "read" the genetic code of organisms from all branches of life by sequencing the four letters that make up DNA. Sequencing genomes has now become routine, giving rise to thousands of genomes in the public databases. In essence, scientists are digitizing biology by converting the A, C, T, and G's of the chemical makeup of DNA into 1's and 0's in a computer. But can one reverse the...
Global Ocean Sampling Expedition (GOS)
Overview In 2004, after a successful pilot project of shotgun metagenomics sequencing at the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series site, J. Craig Venter, PhD, and a Venter Institute team launched the Sorcerer II Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) Expedition. Inspired by 19th Century sea voyages like Darwin's on the H.M.S. Beagle and Captain George Nares on the H.M.S. Challenger, The Sorcerer II circumnavigated the globe for more than two years, covering a staggering 32,000 nautical miles, visiting 23...
Systems Biology for Molecular Analysis of Tuberculosis in Ethiopia
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is estimated to have infected one third of the world’s population based on reports from surveys on positive skin tuberculin tests. There are 22 high-burden countries globally, among them Ethiopia, accounting for 80% of all active tuberculosis cases. The clonal relatedness of strains circulating in humans and other potential reservoirs is poorly understood. Molecular epidemiology is gaining importance in tracking strains and addressing key public health...
Human Microbiome
Both inside and out, our bodies harbor a huge array of bacteria and other microorganisms collectively known as the human microbiome. Although bacteria are often thought to be dangerous, many of those that comprise the microbiome are essential for life. Our researchers are focused on understanding the delicate bacterial balance in the human body and how slight changes in that balance can either improve health or lead to diseases. JCVI Human Microbiome Research Impact Since the...
Acknowledgement of Data Use
Notice and Disclaimer/Limitation of Liability Data and information released from J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) are provided on an "AS IS" basis, without warranty of any kind, including without limitation the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Availability of this data and information does not constitute scientific publication. Data and/or information may contain errors or be incomplete. JCVI and its employees make no representation or...