The Earth Biogenome Project: on track and ready to ramp up
On track to reach an ambitious goal of 3,000 genomes sequenced by the end of 2022.
DUO: streamlining access to biomedical datasets
Biomedical research depends on shared access to human data and streamlining consent to use these data will facilitate discovery. The GA4GH Data Use Ontology (DUO) provides standard terms and definitions for use of biomedical data obtained through informed consent. Standardising this vocabulary allows for automated access to sensitive biomedical data.
Making sense of bacterial DNA data
Researchers have assembled and characterised more than 660,000 bacterial genomes from publicly-available DNA data. Public databases are huge mixed collections of raw data and genomes of widely varying quality, but the new dataset, which is open to the research community, makes it easier to search bacterial genomes for features of interest and examine their evolutionary relationships.
Open data on the rise: the value of EMBL-EBI data resources
An independent study by management consultancy Charles Beagrie Ltd has found that the data resources managed by EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) offer exceptional value for money. The report estimated that the return on investment in research and development depending on EMBL-EBI managed data is worth £1.3 billion annually.
3D-Beacons Network: protein structure data, all in one place
A new platform called 3D-Beacons Network brings together experimentally determined and predicted protein structure models and related data from several providers and makes them freely available, all in one place.
Improving processing and quality of DNA data for biodiversity research
A collaboration between EMBL-EBI’s European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has established automated processes for publishing better organised, cleaner and more up-to-date datasets on GBIF.
The Spatial Mouse Atlas: new insights into cell fate
Researchers have combined spatial gene expression information with single-cell genomics data to create a high-resolution atlas of mouse organogenesis.
DeepMind and EMBL release the most complete database of predicted 3D structures of human proteins
DeepMind is partnering with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) to make the most complete and accurate database yet of the predicted human protein structures freely and openly available to the scientific community
Metadata to make microscopy images more open
Bioimaging has advanced in leaps and bounds in recent years, giving researchers a closer view of how life works at a cellular, molecular and even atomic level.
Repurposing drugs to manage COVID-19 progression
Researchers use large-scale human genetic studies to identify drug targets important for managing COVID-19 in its early stages.
Getting polygenic risk scores into the clinic
Scientists and healthcare providers are beginning to use a new approach for assessing a person's inherited risk for complex diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and breast cancer, which involves calculating a polygenic risk score (PGS). The score provides an estimate of an individual’s risk for the disease, based on their DNA changes related to those diseases.
GIFTS: genomic and protein data in a single search
EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) has launched the Genome Integrations with Function and Sequence (GIFTS). GIFTS enables users of Ensembl or UniProt searching for a specific gene or protein to view the corresponding protein or genomic data. GIFTS is available as a new independent platform regularly updated by both services.
Monitoring dangerous bacteria in freshwater
The river Cam, which flows through the city of Cambridge, UK, is a hotspot for swimmers, rowers, and kayakers, many of whom develop waterborne infections caused by the bacteria found in the river.
Discover the wonderful world of proteins: first virtual PDB Art exhibition
All living things are made of proteins, and each of the millions of proteins out there has its own unique shape. Although we don’t know what the majority of proteins look like, over 170,000 3D structures are stored in the Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe), a database hosted at EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI).
John Marioni honoured by prestigious Blavatnik Awards
EMBL-EBI’s Group Leader, John Marioni, has been selected as a finalist in the 2021 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK. Marioni has recently been appointed as EMBL-EBI’s new Head of Research, set to start his new role in March 2021.
Repurposing bioinformatics tools to tackle the pandemic
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Since then, COVID-19 has become overwhelmingly present in our lives, and researchers are working tirelessly to understand the virus. Within the field of bioinformatics, many have been expanding, adapting, and developing data analysis tools to study coronaviruses.
Microbiomes help predict the future of the Atlantic
The world’s oceans are facing a worrying suite of threats caused by humans. Marine ecosystems are changing faster than ever before, as a result of overfishing, pollution, and global warming – which causes changes in ocean chemistry and threatens marine species. These silent shifts will have profound impacts on animals and people everywhere, so understanding them is crucial.
Genome Targeting Catalogue: unlocking CRISPR research
Even before Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of CRISPR-Cas9, genome editing had become a household name. With the technology increasingly being used in life science research, the need to collate and organise these datasets is becoming increasingly clear.
Bringing AI out of the black box
Love it or hate it, artificial intelligence* (AI) is becoming embedded into all aspects of life. From self-driving cars to analysing legal cases, deciding which social media posts you see or making healthcare more personalised, the applications of AI are endless.
EMBL forms new collaborations in France
EMBL signs MoU to fortify collaborative status with Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy.
Repurposing drugs for a pan-coronavirus treatment
Drug targets common across three coronavirus strains could be used for rapid treatment response against emerging coronavirus strains.
Realising the genomics ecosystem: GA4GH 2020 Connection Demos
The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) has co-released a series of software demos that showcase real-world interoperability across the international genomics community.
Achieving personalised therapeutics
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is part of a growing movement to achieve cell-based medicine in Europe. This week hundreds of leading scientists, clinicians, industry leaders, and policymakers from around Europe declared this a new age for cell-based medicine by publishing a perspective piece, ‘Towards cell-based medicine in Europe’.
The curious genome of the tuatara, an ancient reptile in peril
Researchers have sequenced the genome of the tuatara, revealing its unique evolutionary history.
Europe PMC: unlocking the potential of COVID-19 preprints
COVID-19 research papers and preprints are currently published across many repositories, in formats that make large-scale analyses difficult. To help researchers search and access preprints more effectively, Europe PMC, the literature archive of EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), has begun indexing full-text COVID-19 preprints along with the associated data.