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Omicron and Beta variants evade antibodies elicited by vaccines and previous infections, but boosters help
ROCKVILLE, MD and LA JOLLA, CA—January 13, 2022—Scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute, along with collaborators, have shown that people who were infected with the original D614 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as those vaccinated with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, have significantly reduced protection against the Beta and Omicron variants as compared to the original D614 virus and Delta variant. While a third...
Minimal Cell Workshop
5th Minimal Cell Workshop The Minimal Cell Workshop virtual series is an annual event that brings together the worldwide community of researchers working with JCVI's minimized cell, JCVI-syn3.0 (or one of its variants). JCVI-syn3.0 is based on the naturally occurring Mycoplasma mycoides, but with roughly half as many genes. This model organism has proven to be a platform for exploring the first principles of life, a chassis for engineering, computational modeling, and more. Interested in...
Global Coral Reefs are in Peril
Scientists show that probiotics can help Rising global ocean temperatures are a major threat to coral reefs, but exciting new research published by J. Craig Venter Institute scientists and an international team of collaborators has brought us one step closer to finding a way to protect them by developing a new probiotic to act as a proactive therapeutic. Corals that were treated showed an increased survival rate of 40%. While these results are promising, the team needs your help to take...
JCVI Policy Center forecasts US likely to remain biotechnology leader through 2050, but China could threaten position
LA JOLLA, CA—July 28, 2021—The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) Policy Center has released a summary version of their report outlining the competitive landscape of biotechnology through 2050. The report uses nearly 100 indicators to build scoring around a nation’s capacity and potential to invent and produce biotechnology products over time. While they forecast that the United States will continue to lead the world in biotechnology ahead of China, it is by no means assured. “By 2050,...
Climate change and iron availability may drastically alter algae blooms in the Southern Ocean, trapping vast nutrients
LA JOLLA, CA—July 26, 2021—The Southern Ocean (SO) harbors some of the most intense phytoplankton blooms on Earth. Climate change models predict that average SO surface temperatures will rise from their current average of zero to four degrees Celsius by one to two degrees by 2100 and six degrees by 2300. Additionally, while there is considerable uncertainty regarding the impact of projected climate change on anticipated changes in iron availability, it is believed that iron availability...
Sequencing the Human Genome
The human genome is the complete set of genetic information, stored as DNA within the nucleus of nearly every one of the trillions of cells in the human body. Every person’s genome is different and is a large part of what makes us into unique individuals. The first effort to decode the human genome, considered a draft sequence, resulted in its publication in 2001. Six years later a high quality sequence—called a diploid genome—of a single individual was published, containing all genetic...
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How Comparable are Microbial Electrochemical Systems around the Globe? An Electrochemical and Microbiological Cross-Laboratory Study.
Invited for this month's cover is the collaborative work among Univ. of Milano-Bicocca, Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico S.p.A., Univ. degli Studi di Milano, Univ. of California Irvine, Univ. of New Mexico, CNRS Toulouse. Technische Univ. Braunschweig, Aquacycl LLC, J. Craig Venter Institute, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research. The image shows a sketch of a microbial fuel cell and a target indicating the need of developing common standards for the field of microbial electrochemical...
New wiki on salivary proteins may transform diagnostic testing and personalized medicine
A diagram that shows the interconnectedness of the thousands of salivary proteins originating from blood plasma, parotid glands, and submandibular and sublingual glands. The diagram is one of many tools available to researchers and clinicians through the Human Salivary Proteome Wiki. By Marcene Robinson BUFFALO, N.Y. – To improve the development of new saliva-based diagnostic tests and personalized medicine, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) has...
National Academy of Sciences launches new open access journal, PNAS Nexus, in partnership with Oxford University Press; Karen Nelson to serve as inaugural editor-in-chief
Washington, DC – The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is pleased to announce the launch of PNAS Nexus, a highly selective, open access journal with a focus on innovation and rapid publication. PNAS Nexus will publish innovative and multi-, trans-, and interdisciplinary work across the biological, physical, and social sciences, particularly encompassing engineering and health sciences. The journal will be published under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Karen Nelson, president of the J....