BOL: Related items

GRAbB: Selective Assembly of Genomic Regions, a New Niche for Genomic Research

Rahul Nayak — Sat, 26 Jan 2019 18:58:16 -0600

GRAbB is shown to be more efficient than MITObim in terms of speed, memory and disk usage. The other functionalities (handling multiple targets simultaneously and extracting homologous regions) of the new program are not matched by other programs. The program is available with explanatory documentation at https://github.com/b-brankovics/grabb. GRAbB has been tested on Ubuntu (12.04 and 14.04), Fedora (23), CentOS (7.1.1503) and Mac OS X (10.7). Furthermore, GRAbB is available as a docker repository: brankovics/grabb (https://hub.docker.com/r/brankovics/grabb/).

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/b-brankovics/grabb

Internship program with ArrayGen Technolgies

Sun, 22 Jun 2014 23:18:31 -0500

Internship Program for Bioinformatics / Biotechnology Professionals Currently we offer positions to outstanding students interested in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data analysis. Applications are accepted throughout the year. Accepted students will be listed on web with their schedules. Accepted students can attend our future workshops and trainings freely at the specified venue.

Interested candidates may email their resume along with a cover letter to careers@arraygen.com

Official website: http://www.arraygen.com/

Katherine Belov Lab

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 22:59:35 -0600

Evolution of the adaptive immune system Marsupial and monotreme immune genes MHC Diversity and Conservation Marsupial and monotreme genomics Comparative Genomics Genetics of Tasmanian Devil facial tumour disease

More at https://www.sydney.edu.au/science/about/our-people/academic-staff/kathy-belov.html

AI Uncovers Hidden Secrets in Bacterial DNA, Opening New Frontiers in Genomic Research

Jitendra Narayan — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 22:38:42 -0500

Scientists are now using artificial intelligence in order to examine sections of bacterial DNA that have not been looked at before. This method is showing potential RNA interactions and previously unknown genetic systems which could alter our understanding of microbes. A new study presents Minerva, a genome language model, demonstrating that AI can assist researchers in identifying biological patterns that traditional techniques might fail to detect.

The study, which was made available as a preprint on bioRxiv on 23 September 2026, focuses on the non-coding sections of DNA that are still largely unknown. Although these areas do not produce proteins, they can contain important signals and instructions which have an effect on cell function. The research presents a novel approach to investigating how bacteria handle and control their genetic information.

AI maps previously unexplored genomic regions

The team developed Minerva in order to identify possible interactions between different regions in microbial genomes; rather than depending on similarities with known sequences, Minerva predicts these relationships directly from the DNA by using patterns learned by a genome language model.

On 150 bacterial genomes, Minerva identified a large number of interactions that were not included in the existing annotations. The researchers stated that 84.3 per cent of the predicted intergenic base-pairing interactions were not present in the current annotations, which demonstrates that AI can be of help in generating new ideas in biology.

Unusual RNA structures and viral genetic systems identified

The study also examined a bacterial RNA family known as TwoAYGGAY in Pseudomonas; the model anticipated longer RNA structures and identified associations with repeated DNA sequences, thus providing new insights into how these non-coding elements are organised and how they have evolved.

In a separate section of the study, the researchers examined reverse transcriptase systems associated with bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect bacteria. They identified RNA arrays that maintain their structure but have different sequences and were linked to Unknown Group 27 reverse transcriptases. The findings indicate that these RNAs could function as templates for the production of complementary DNA that is capable of forming hairpin shapes.

The researchers also observed that Minerva was able to detect patterns associated with protein-coding areas, even though it had not been trained to do so. This indicates that genome language models may pick up on biological signals that go beyond what they were intended to identify.

Implications for future genomic research

The fact that artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important in the field of microbial genomics is shown by the fact that models such as Minerva are able to predict interactions and identify patterns in areas which have not been extensively studied, thus helping researchers to decide what to study next and enabling them to gain a better understanding of biological systems that are still not well understood.

Yet the predictions do not reveal the exact function of each element identified. In order to verify which of the predicted interactions actually take place in living cells and the way in which they affect the microbes, experiments will be necessary. Although the study has undergone peer review, it does nonetheless offer a promising illustration of how machine learning can complement traditional genomics and assist scientists in moving from the identification of known genes to the exploration of the complex relationships that shape microbial life.

More at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.22.753630v2.full.pdf

ENCODE3: A collection of research articles and related content describing the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements, its datasets and tools.

Shruti Paniwala — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 08:25:21 -0500

How cells, tissues and organisms interpret the information encoded in the genome has vital implications for our understanding of development, health and disease. Launched in 2003, the ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project has the aim of mapping the functional elements in the human genome (later expanded to include model organisms).

During the first phase of ENCODE, published in 2007, microarray-based technologies were used to detect regions associated with transcription factors, certain histone modifications and open chromatin within a pre-specified 1% of the human genome.

ENCODE’s second phase saw a switch to sequencing-based technologies, the addition of new assay types and the analysis of functional elements genome-wide, described in a collection of research articles in 2012.

The Encyclopedia paper of ENCODE 3, published in Nature, gives an overview of the various assays that were performed in human and mouse cell lines and tissues and describes a Registry of human and mouse candidate cis-regulatory elements (cCREs).

More at https://www.nature.com/immersive/d42859-020-00027-2/index.html

The 8000 years old Tibetian gene mutation !!!

Neel — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 21:57:44 -0500

A new study has provided insight into how gene mutation around 8,000 years ago helped Tibetans' to survive in the thin air on the Tibetan Plateau, where an average elevation is of 14,800 feet.

A study led by University of Utah scientists is the first to find a genetic cause for the adaptation, a single DNA base pair change that dates back 8,000 years and demonstrate how it contributes to the Tibetans' ability to live in low oxygen conditions.

About 8,000 years ago, the gene EGLN1 changed by a single DNA base pair. Today, a relatively short time later on the scale of human history, 88 percent of Tibetans have the genetic variation, and it was virtually absent from closely related lowland Asians. The findings indicate the genetic variation endows its carriers with an advantage.

In those without the adaptation, low oxygen caused their blood to become thick with oxygen-carrying red blood cells, an attempt to feed starved tissues, which could cause long-term complications such as heart failure. The researchers found that the newly identified genetic variation protected Tibetans by decreasing the over-response to low oxygen.

Reference: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v512/n7513/abs/nature13408.html

Senior Scientist Computational Biology at NIPGR

Sun, 19 Jul 2020 23:30:04 -0500

Senior Scientist Computational Biology
Level 13

₹ 1,66,378 (Consolidated)

(UR)

Ph.D. in the area of Computational Biology/Bioinformatics/Biotechnology/Life Sciences with at least 6 years of relevant experience.
OR
M. Tech with 8 years of relevant experience.

The relevant experience shall be in the area of sequencing/genome assembly and annotation and high throughput genotyping for facilitating Genomic assisted Breeding
Age: Not exceeding 50 years

• The incumbent will assist the Programme Director of the Facility to discharge various activities of the NGGF

• Co-ordination with the service provider, DBT/academic institutions/anchoring institute (NIPGR) for execution of activities of the Facility.

• The incumbent will be expected to identify the requirements of Private Sector and Government laboratories in the area of Marker assisted selection and develop linkages to facilitate the same.

• Interact with multiple stake holders including Government and Private Sector in the area of agriculture Biotechnology.

• Oversee the establishment of relevant Standard Operational Procedures (SOP), Quality Accreditation of Genomics and Genotyping facility.

More at http://www.nipgr.ac.in/careers/vacancies_latest.php#vacancy2

Scientist positions @ CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB)

Sat, 02 Dec 2023 00:51:08 -0600

CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB) is a premier Institute of Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR), engaged in research of national importance in the areas of genomics,
molecular medicine, bioinformatics and proteomics. For more details, kindly refer to website
https://igib.res.in.
The Institute is looking for dynamic and creative Indian researchers having excellent academic record
and interested in Product Development / Technology Innovation / Applied Technology / Translational
Research in the above broad areas. The eligible candidates may apply for the following positions
through the CSIR-IGIB website.

More at https://www.igib.res.in/bdmg/ScientistRecruitmentAdvt2023.pdf

Bioinformatics in Africa: Part 4 - Morocco

BioStar — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 13:31:24 -0600

Bioinformatics, in the UFR in Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics, deals with the management, the analysis, the modelling and the visualization of biological databases. Since the size of the databases is often exponential, the traditional algorithms are not very effective when seeking for a good computational solution.

To take care of this issue, many ways are opened to the researchers to improve the quality of the algorithms:

1. Usage of new information processing methods like artificial neuronal networks, genetic algorithms, etc. 2. Usage of Data mining to explore biochemical databases,
3. Usage of Machine learning on the biological examples to solve, for example, the problem of classification in Bioinformatics.

UFR offers in addition a doctoral training in Computer Science and Bioinformatics.

Doctoral module which includes: a Diplôme des Etudes Supérieures Approfondies (DESA) of two years; and a doctorate studies program with a national Ph.D. certification. Three specializations constitute the teaching trunk of the ENSAT: Computer engineering, Telecom engineering, and electronic systems engineering.

Research Interest and Activities:

The following are the present areas of research interest:

1. Machine Learning and Profile Gene Expression of Cancer
2. Predicting Protein structure
3. Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and multiple alignments
4. Transformational Grammar for sequence modelling
5. Physical Mapping: STSs
6. Evolutionary Computation applied to Genomic and Proteomic
7. Predicate Logic and Protein Structure

Web site and links:

http://www.ensat.ac.ma/udiab http://www.pasteur.fr/pasteur/international/annonce_coursBioinfoannonce06_casa.pdf

Coronavirus Resources !

Neel — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 17:11:33 -0500

2019nCoVR features comprehensive integration of genomic and proteomic sequences as well as their metadata information from the GISAID, NCBI, NMDC and CNCB/NGDC. It also incorporates a wide range of relevant information including scientific literatures, news, and popular articles for science dissemination, and provides visualization functionalities for genome variation analysis results based on all collected 2019-nCoV strains.

Annotation

https://bigd.big.ac.cn/ncov/variation/annotation

Genome wharehouse

https://bigd.big.ac.cn/gwh/browse/index

Released Genome

https://bigd.big.ac.cn/ncov/release_genome

Download data

ftp://download.big.ac.cn/Genome/Viruses/Coronaviridae/

Raw data

https://bigd.big.ac.cn/gsa/browse/run/?tag=Coronaviridae

Address of the bookmark: https://bigd.big.ac.cn/ncov/about