News
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Collaboration with NASA uses eDNA technology to monitor biodiversity
eDNA is short for “environmental DNA,” and it is a relatively new method for monitoring biodiversity that Meyer’s lab specializes in. The NASA BioSCape project will combine the eDNA that the UC Santa Cruz team collects with airborne imaging spectroscopy and lidar remote sensing with field observations to better understand the biodiversity of South Africa’s…
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Beth Shaprio talks to NPR’s Short Wave about ancient DNA research and de-extinction
Beth Shaprio spoke on the NPR Short Wave podcast about mammoths, dodos, and other extinct species. Take a listen to learn about how ancient DNA has grown as a field, and how Shaprio hopes that recent investments into technologies to “de-extinct” these animals can help us conserve endangered species that are alive today: It’s boom…
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RNA Rescue challenge invites players to solve puzzles and advance RNA therapeutics
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed a new puzzle challenge for the online game Eterna, enlisting players to help design a novel RNA drug to treat hemophilia A Tim Stephens | UCSC | February 21, 2023 Researchers at UC Santa Cruz working to develop novel RNA-based medicines are teaming up with a new group…
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Researcher wins inaugural NHGRI award for DEIA Innovation in the Genomics Workforce
Emily Cerf | UCSC | February 21, 2023Ann McCartney, a research scientist at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, has always wanted to be part of building a better world. As career led her to becoming a genomicist, she has focused this passion into a commitment to equity in scientific research, particularly in advancing genomic…
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Announcing the Winners of the DEI Action Award!
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute diversity committee is thrilled to be able to announce this year’s winners of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Award: Mohammed Mostajo-Radji – Research Investigator, Director of the Live Cell Biotechnology Discovery Lab Mohammmed (Mo) is receiving this award for his ongoing efforts to develop remote education opportunities to…
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Angela Brooks Receives Mentor Award from SACNAS
February 6, 2023 By Rose Miyatsu Angela Brooks, associate professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz, has received an Outstanding Research and Professional Mentor Award from the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). The award, which was announced at the 2022 SACNAS National Diversity in STEM conference, is awarded…
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Jenny Reardon creates a framework for rebuilding public trust in science
To rebuild public trust in science, Jenny Reardon and her colleagues propose shaping new studies in genomics, neuroscience, and AI to engage questions of ethics and justice from the beginning.
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Beth Shaprio Plans to Revive Dodo Bird
By pursuing the problem of dodo de-extinction, Beth Shapiro and Colossal Biosciences hope to develop critically needed tools for avian genomics, including for the genetic rescue of currently threatened species. In this way, a 21st-century dodo may assist all avian conservation.
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The human genome needs updating. But how do we make it fair?
Healthcare’s standard genome is mostly based on one American. As we enter the era of personalised medicine, this bias has drawbacks for much of the world’s population Betsy Reed | The Guardian | January 29, 2023 In June 2000, Bill Clinton, the then US president, stood smilingly next to the leaders of the Human Genome…
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Researchers Go Beyond Gene Variant Analysis With Nascent Pangenome-Based Methods
Andrew P. Han | genomeweb | January 30, 2023 NEW YORK – Graph-based genomes, such as the one being built by the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC), are already being used to do more than just genetic variant analysis. Read on genomeweb.
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Response to ASHG’s “Facing our History” Report: Our Commitment to Building an Equitable Future
This week, the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) released a report, as part of its “Facing our History—Building an Equitable Future” initiative, that was aimed at acknowledging past injustices in the genomics community. We encourage everyone engaged in genomics research to read this report, because while parts of it are painful, we agree with…
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Researchers produce first-ever toolkit for RNA sequencing analysis using a ‘pantranscriptome’
This tool will aid researchers around the world who are working to understand gene expression through RNA sequencing analysis. The tools are publicly available and can be accessed via Github.