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'Twas the night before Christmas
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the building All our creatures were stirring, even our mold; The dishes were placed in the incubator with prayer, In hopes that pure growth soon would be there; The scientists were nestled all close to their screens instead While swirls of DNA danced in their heads; My coworker in her labcoat, and I with my pipettor, Had just settled down for a long...
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...
JCVI La Jolla Breaks Ground
It is official! On Tuesday, September 20th JCVI officially broke ground on a new La Jolla, California sustainable lab, to be located directly on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. Craig Venter, JCVI Founder and President along with UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox; Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine, David Brenner; Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Vice Chancellor for Marine Sciences, Tony Haymet; and San Diego Mayor Jerry...
NASA and JCVI host symposium on the evolution of Earth and Life
On May 12th and 13th, the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego will be hosting a NASA Astrobiology Institute-funded symposium titled “Paleobiology in the genomics era.” Paleobiology is the study of the origins and evolution of life and, by nature, is interdisciplinary. The goal is to bring together scientists united by this common interest but differentiated by expertise. A major intellectual challenge to paleobiology is the close interaction between environment and life. As life evolved,...
A Look Back at 2010 at the JCVI…
As the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) soars into its 19th year, we reflect on the past year of highlights and accomplishments to mark the close 2010 and look forward to more significant scientific advances in 2011. JCVI Top 10 of 2010 ... 1. First Synthetic Cell: Fifteen years in the making, 2010 brought to bear with huge anticipation the successful construction of the first self-replicating, synthetic bacterial cell. The work was published in Science in May. The synthetic cell called...
Scientist Spotlight: Meet Vanessa Hayes
Geneticist Vanessa Hayes does not think small nor move slowly—from completing her post doc in six months (the US National average is 3 to 7 years) to completing the first South African Genome Project in 2010 with her goal set on defining the extent of human diversity in all populations, she is on a mission. Just 11 years outside her post doc she has the credentials of someone who has been in science much longer. Her work and talent has taken her to remote regions of Southern Africa, all...
French Road Sampling Trip Saves Sorcerer II From More Rough Weather!
September 28th 2010 With one last sample to collect and the weather still rough in the Mediterranean, we made the decision to make the Banyuls sample a road sampling trip. So Jeremy and I loaded up a rental car with carboys and headed out at 5 am to drive the 125 miles (200km) to Banyuls France from Barcelona Spain. Driving to Banyuls After being on the boat for a few months straight, the 2 hour drive was a welcome adventure, even with the 5 am departure! We were...
Go To Greece!
September 20th 2010 We arrived in Crete today, bringing our Greek sampling leg to an end. We were very lucky to be able to sail in Greek waters, this place is truly beautiful. Not only did we get to see the natural beauty of Greece, but our hosts introduced us to the rich culture and extensive history of Greece. Our hosts, The Captain (AKA Mr Panayotis Tsakos ) and his family have been good friends with Dr. Venter for years. Being in the shipping business for decades, it isn’t surprising...
Back To Sampling In The Black Sea and Rough Rough Weather
September 9th 2010 Hello everyone! I know it has been a long time since the last post from Sorcerer II. Let me take the time to explain…………..in early August we sailed to Greece. As I have mentioned in the past we have permits with each country to collect samples, these permits have certain time windows and other country specific stipulations. Once stipulation on the Greek permit was that for each Greek sample collected we must have a Greek collaborator onboard Sorcerer II. One of...
Entamoeba histolytica research presented at the Molecular Parasitology Meeting
Entamoeba histolytica causes invasive intestinal and extraintestinal infections, known as amoebiasis, in about 50 million people and still remains a significant cause of human death in developing countries. However, for unknown reasons, fewer than 10% of E. histolytica infections are symptomatic (causing symptoms such as diarrhea, dysentery or liver abscess). The J. Craig Venter Institute is among the institutions awarded the NIAID Genome Sequencing Centers for Infectious Diseases (GSCID)...