Author profile
Hans Zauner
1,600 plant extracts reveal their secrets
Hans Zauner - January 18, 2023
A GigaScience Data Note presents a searchable library of spectra and molecules found in a collection of 1,600 plant extracts.
Celebrating and innovating: This was 2022 at GigaScience Press
Hans Zauner - December 20, 2022
It was a year to remember, for more than one reason: 2022 marked the 10th anniversary of GigaScience‘s launch. The journal’s younger sibling GigaByte got an award and continued to innovate with living documents and its first trilingual article. And we published lots of memorable research, featuring, for example, a giant tortoise and 26 deadly […]
What’s your poison? Venom composition of 26 deadly snakes
Hans Zauner - December 14, 2022
The Center for Antibody Technologies headed by Professor Andreas Laustsen-Kiel (Technical University of Denmark) used high-throughput methods to systematically analyze the venoms of the 26 most deadly snakes in sub-Saharan Africa. The results are now published in Gigascience. Each year, around 500,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from snake bites, causing an estimated 7,000 to […]
Not all species are equal: Using the h-index to quantify taxonomic bias (author Q&A)
Hans Zauner - August 16, 2022
The h-index is a metric that was invented to summarise the publication output and impact of researchers. In a new GigaScience article, authors from the University of New South Wales (Australia) adopt the controversial metric to explore systematic differences in research interest (taxonomic bias), using mammals as an example.
3D imaging of the proteus, a mysterious cave-dwelling salamander
Hans Zauner - April 6, 2022
Newly published high-resolution images of the head of the blind salamander Proteus anguinus reveal adaptations for life in the dark.
Genomic and genetic tools for the helmeted honeyeater, Victoria’s endangered state bird
Hans Zauner - March 29, 2022
A team led by scientists from Monash University have completed a major milestone towards achieving the rescue of the critically endangered helmeted honeyeater. They have deciphered the bird’s genome and created a high-density genetic linkage map, thereby introducing new tools that will be helpful in conservation efforts. You can read the GigaScience Data Note, presenting […]
The (first) GigaScience Press End-of-Year Review
Hans Zauner - December 20, 2021
This end-of-the-year festive summary is different from previous ones: For the first time, we can look back at a full publication year of our new baby, GigaByte journal. The older sibling GigaScience will also get the attention it deserves, before celebrating its 10th birthday in 2022. Let’s first have a look at how the new […]
AI for mental health assessment: Author Q&A
Hans Zauner - October 14, 2021
A new article published today in GigaScience demonstrates that machine learning can yield “proxy measures” for brain-related health issues, without the need for a specialist’s assessment.
Data on arm motion control for the human-machine interface
Hans Zauner - July 23, 2021
A new “multi-modal” data set on arm motion control, published recently in GigaScience, is an important contribution to develop robotic prosthetic devices and other tools at the interface between human and machine.
Cone snail genome sheds light on venom evolution
Hans Zauner - May 27, 2021
This week in GigaScience we published the genome of the mediterranean cone snail, Lautoconus ventricosus. Cone snails produce a wide variety of powerful toxins and the new chromosome-scale genome assembly opens the door for detailed investigations of their diversity and evolution.