Media Center

03-Oct-2017
Press Release

J. Craig Venter Institute-led Team Awarded 5-year, $10.7 M Grant from U.S. Department of Energy to Optimize Metabolic Networks in Diatoms, Enabling Next-Generation Biofuels and Bioproducts

Research builds on a series of recent landmark studies, at JCVI, which have led to transformative new methodology for synthetic biology and functional genomics

13-Sep-2017
Collaborator Release

Don't blame your genes for your toothache, twin study shows

For the first time, investigators have looked at the role that genes and the oral microbiome play in the formation of cavities and have found that your mother was right: The condition of your teeth depends on your dietary and oral hygiene habits. The study appears September 13 in Cell Host & Microbe.

15-Aug-2017
Collaborator Release

Precision medicine opens the door to scientific wellness preventive approaches to suicide

Researchers have developed a more precise way of diagnosing suicide risk, by developing blood tests that work in everybody, as well as more personalized blood tests for different subtypes of suicidality that they have newly identified, and for different psychiatric high-risk groups.

09-Aug-2017
Collaborator Release

Defining Standards for Genomes from Uncultivated Microorganisms

Expanding minimum information standards for single-cell genomics, metagenomics datasets.

11-Jul-2017
Collaborator Release

Energy Department Announces up to $8 Million to Enable Breakthroughs in Algae-Based Biofuels

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the J. Craig Venter Institute, Global Algae Innovations will deliver a tool for low cost, rapid analysis of pond microbiota, gather data on the impacts of pond ecology, and develop new cultivation methods that utilize this information to achieve greater algal productivity.

06-Jul-2017
Press Release

Scientists from J. Craig Venter Institute and Scripps Institution of Oceanography Publish Study Describing Function and Mechanisms of Diatom Centromeres

Research provides basic but essential information about how diatom chromosomes are replicated and maintained

29-May-2017
Collaborator Release

Digital-to-Biological Converter for On-Demand Production of Biologics Developed by Synthetic Genomics, Inc.

The first fully automated machine to convert digital code into functional biologics without human intervention creates entirely new avenues for precision medicine

22-May-2017
Collaborator Release

Intestinal Fungi Worsen Alcoholic Liver Disease

Reducing intestinal fungi slowed disease progression in mice

02-May-2017
Collaborator Release

Stool Microbes Predict Advanced Liver Disease

Proof-of-concept study suggests a noninvasive test for specific microbial population patterns could be used to detect advanced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Pages

Mold Is Everywhere and Impacts You

When most people think about mold or fungi, food spoilage, a damp basement, or mushrooms come to mind. What you may not realize is how pervasive this branch of life is. Fungi is everywhere, from the ground you walk on to the air you breathe, and accounts for an estimated 25% of all biomass...

Scientists Discover Genetic Basis for Toxic Algal Blooms

Scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego have discovered how certain types of algal blooms become toxic, producing a harmful substance known as domoic acid. Microscopic view of domoic acid...

Ocean Microplastics Explained

As we wrap up sampling in the waters off of Maine, Dr. Chris Dupont discusses how collections of plastic particles in the water – or “plastisphere” – may be harboring fish or human pathogens. There may also be microbes responsible for degrading plastic, which are being investigated....

JCVI Team Awarded Two Grants Under the NSF’s “Understanding the Rules of Life” Initiative

The first award, led by John Glass, PhD, for $1M, is focused on “Building and Modeling Synthetic Bacterial Cells.” The second award, led by Zaida Luthey-Schulten, PhD, at the University of Illinois, also for $1M, is titled “Balancing the Demands of a Minimal Cell,” and is focused on...

Dr. Venter at Sailors’ Scuttlebutt Lecture Series

Dr. Craig Venter was a guest speaker at the Whaling Museum in partnership with Nantucket Community Sailing as part of the Sailors’ Scuttlebutt Lecture Series. Dr. Venter's lecture was titled, "Oceans, Human Health and the Genomic Future" discussing the Global Ocean...

Newly Discovered Human Brain Cell: Rosehip Neurons

What’s next for exploring the newly discovered human brain cell, the rose hip neuron? We caught up with Dr. Richard Scheuermann on the road to discuss how the J. Craig Venter Institute is advancing knowledge about what makes humans unique. See the full press release.

Ocean Sampling Day 2018

J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) scientists, led by Lisa Ziegler Allen, PhD, are collaborating with Kelly Goodwin, PhD (NOAA), Brian Palenik, PhD (UCSD), and Maitreyi Nagarkar (UCSD) to participate in this year’s Ocean Sampling Day on June 21. The team, which also includes Sarah Schwenck...

J. Craig Venter Institute Education Program Fosters Learning Opportunities with Salisbury University Students and Faculty

Patti Erickson, PhD first connected with the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in the Fall of 2016 as an associate professor at Salisbury University looking for opportunities to expose undergraduate students to biology outside of the classroom. Soon thereafter, she and a group from Salisbury...

JCVI Makes Strides in Microbial Analysis of Artwork which May Lead to Better Preservation

Through the da Vinci DNA Project, researchers at JCVI began taking samples from aging artwork with the aim of understanding which microbial species are present are present on each.

Pages

24-Oct-2023
Noema

Planet Microbe

There are more organisms in the sea, a vital producer of oxygen on Earth, than planets and stars in the universe.

29-Aug-2023
Vanity Fair

The Next Climate Change Calamity?: We’re Ruining the Microbiome, According to Human-Genome-Pioneer Craig Venter

In a new book (coauthored with Venter), a Vanity Fair contributor presents the oceanic evidence that human activity is altering the fabric of life on a microscopic scale.

21-Aug-2023
GEN

Lessons from the Minimal Cell

“Despite reducing the sequence space of possible trajectories, we conclude that streamlining does not constrain fitness evolution and diversification of populations over time. Genome minimization may even create opportunities for evolutionary exploitation of essential genes, which are commonly observed to evolve more slowly.”

09-Aug-2023
Quanta Magazine

Even Synthetic Life Forms With a Tiny Genome Can Evolve

By watching “minimal” cells regain the fitness they lost, researchers are testing whether a genome can be too simple to evolve.

15-May-2023
Science

Privacy concerns sparked by human DNA accidentally collected in studies of other species

Two research teams warn that human genomic “bycatch” can reveal private information

10-May-2023
New York Times

Scientists Unveil a More Diverse Human Genome

The “pangenome,” which collated genetic sequences from 47 people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, could greatly expand the reach of personalized medicine.

10-May-2023
Nature

First human ‘pangenome’ aims to catalogue genetic diversity

Researchers release draft results from an ongoing effort to capture the entirety of human genetic variation.

15-Mar-2023
Scientific American

Scientists Create the Smallest-Ever Moving Cell

Just two genes get tiny synthetic cells moving, offering clues to life’s evolution.

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