Scientists from 33 European countries join forces to generate reference genomes for the continent's rich biological diversity

19-Sep-2024 - The European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) pilot project reports its success in uniting scientists from across Europe to produce high-quality reference genomes for 98 species. This marks a significant milestone in the quest to create a high-quality reference genome database for all European ...

Cracking the code of life: New AI model deciphers the hidden language of DNA

07-Aug-2024 - Scientists at TU Dresden have trained a large language model with human DNA. Researchers can use it to try to decode the complex information hidden in our genome. The AI treats human DNA like language, learning its rules and relationships to derive functional information about the DNA sequences. ...

Why European Colonization Drove the Blue Antelope to Extinction

International team of scientists and start-up Colossal Biosciences decode the DNA of the bluebuck using state-of-the-art computer analysis software

17-Apr-2024 - An international team of researchers led by the University of Potsdam has generated and analyzed the first high-coverage nuclear genome of the extinct blue antelope in cooperation with Colossal Biosciences and the Museum of Natural History Berlin. The genomic data shed light on the evolutionary ...

Time travel through genomics

Reconstruction of a 1,300-year-old phage genome shows similarities to a modern virus that infects intestinal bacteria

02-Feb-2024 - Viruses adapt quickly to new conditions, which is accompanied by a change in their genome. This also applies to a special group of viruses, the bacteriophages. A research team from Poland, the Netherlands and Germany has now successfully reconstructed numerous old phage genomes. These include a ...

Scientists use quantum biology, AI to sharpen genome editing tool

"This study represents an exciting advancement toward, understanding how we can avoid making costly ‘typos’ in an organism’s genetic code"

21-Nov-2023 - Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used their expertise in quantum biology, artificial intelligence and bioengineering to improve how CRISPR Cas9 genome editing tools work on organisms like microbes that can be modified to produce renewable fuels and chemicals. CRISPR is a powerful tool ...

Unraveling female resilience

Leveraging organ-on-chip technology to study the impact of menopause on immunological and metabolic resilience

04-Oct-2023 - Dynamic resilience, the ability of humans to withstand unexpected changes and stressors, is pivotal for maintaining bodily functions and overall health. Aging adults and especially women after menopause are at higher risk of adverse health outcomes (including frailty) in response to external ...

A new tool to study complex genome interactions

“I was super excited to see that we had uncovered a really strong effect”

21-Jun-2023 - Genome Architecture Mapping captures complex, multi-way interactions in the genome. This is different than the workhorse technique of 3D genomics, which sees mostly two-way contacts, finds a new study by a team led by Ana Pombo from the Max Delbrück Center, published in “Nature Methods”. People ...

Sophisticated gene memory: Researchers develop new method to genetically compare hundreds of animal species

02-May-2023 - Thanks to great technological advances, the genetic material of living beings can now be sequenced at a rapid rate. Comparisons of genomes, whether of closely related or completely different species, reveal particularly interesting findings. In this way, information can be obtained on ...

Genomics for biodiversity conservation

Genomic analyses provide important insights for conservation management

28-Feb-2023 - Conserving nature’s biodiversity is one of the great challenges of our time. To develop strategies and effective measures, well-founded scientific analyses, and concrete information for the actors in nature conservation are needed. The field of biodiversity genomics can make an important ...

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022 goes to Svante Pääbo: What makes us uniquely human?

Nobel Prize for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution

03-Oct-2022 - Humanity has always been intrigued by its origins. Where do we come from, and how are we related to those who came before us? What makes us,Homo sapiens, different from other hominins? Through his pioneering research, SvantePääboaccomplished something seemingly impossible: sequencing the ...