Biosciences News

Former Biosciences postdoctoral researcher and chef Vayu Hill-Maini’s emerging work on Neurospora, a type of fungus, explores a revolutionary approach to addressing food waste through sustainable fermentation practices. Neurospora mold thrives on food waste such as leftover grains, oat milk pulp, and peanut oil pressings, turning them into edible, nutrient-rich food. This fungus, traditionally used … Read more »

Researchers at the Agile BioFoundry (ABF) and the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU), have successfully scaled up a bio-based process that converts ethanol into a valuable precursor for consumer products, such as paints, coatings, and diapers. The researchers worked with industry partner, Industrial Microbes, to develop the process.

The Biosciences 10-year Scientific Strategic Plan, which envisions the future of technology development, biological research, and organizational stewardship for the Area, has been released. The plan represents short- and long-term goals to transform biological research with technological innovations that will be applied to Area research strategies in energy, environment, and human health. The strategic plan also describes organizational stewardship goals to invest in people and manage Area resources.

Congratulations to JGI staff scientist Simon Roux, who was recently selected as the 2025 recipient of the Microbiome Data Prize by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Roux leads the Viral Genomics group within the JGI Metagenome Program, and coordinates the development of the virus and plasmid workflows for the National Microbiome Data Collaborative. He also has a secondary affiliation in the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology (EGSB) Division.

Biosciences researchers have used Collaborative Cross mice, a mouse model system designed to mimic the diversity of human populations, to identify a set of genetic factors that could help refine treatment approaches for a fast-growing form of breast cancer.