News

Coastal seagrass ecosystems cover some 200,000 square kilometers. They account for an estimated 15 percent of carbon fixed in global ocean, and also impact sulfur and nitrogen cycles.As a foundational species in the coastal marine ecosystem, researchers are interested in understanding how the plant—and by extension other plants in the ecosystem—adapts to climate change. Published online January 27, 2016 in Nature – and as the cover of the journal’s February 18, 2016 issue – a European team including researchers from the DOE Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) sequenced a seagrass genome: that of the eelgrass Zostera marina, taken from the Archipelago Sea off Finland.  Read more on the JGI website.

A researcher analyzing vast quantities of genomic data is not unlike a beachcomber slowly scanning a beach with a metal detector. Although global microbial populations are orders of magnitude larger than nearly any other population in, on or around the planet, only a fraction has been identified thus far. More thorough surveys could lead to new strategies for DOE researchers to advance their energy and environmental investigations. In a study published January 27, 2016 in Nature Communications, a team led by DOE Joint Genome Institute researchers utilized the largest collection of metagenomic datasets to uncover a completely novel bacterial phylum that they have dubbed “Kryptonia.” Read more on the DOE JGI website.

Berkeley Lab is pleased to honor fourteen “Women @ The Lab” this year. Women @ the Lab showcases some of Berkeley Lab’s talented and dedicated employees in STEM and Operations, and four of the fourteen are in the Biosciences Area. Helen Cademartori, Biosciences Area Operations Deputy; Sarah Richardson, Computational Biologist Postdoctoral Fellow at the Joint BioEnergy Institute, … Read more »

As the nation observed Veterans Day, a time to honor and remember those who have served our country in the armed forces, four Lab veterans described their experiences. Among those were Erika Lindquist of the Joint Genome Institute (pictured) and Nick Everson from the Emery Station Operations Center and Joint BioEnergy Institute. Read more and watch … Read more »