Author profile

Hans Zauner

Many years ago, Hans did research in evolutionary and developmental biology. He clipped fish fins and handled a laser beam to shoot at reproductive organs of worms. Now in safe distance from any lab bench, he works on various science communication projects.

Genome data shed light on the domestication of naked oat

- August 2, 2023

Avena sativa (oat)

Genome analysis of 100 oat plants from around the world reveal that naked and hulled oat varieties diverged more than 50.000 years ago.

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Selective sequencing on a shoestring: the $300 HARU system

- July 4, 2023

This week GigaScience published a cost-effective, open source  hardware/software solution for selective sequencing, using the Nanopore Minion device and a tiny $300 device that is “two times faster than a 30,000 $ 36-core server, at a fraction of power consumption”.

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Amazonian Morpho butterflies: three genomes with a twist

- May 25, 2023

First full-length genome sequences for three species of Morpho butterflies show inversions on the Z chromosome.

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Multi-dimensional data for Cooinda the dingo

- March 30, 2023

A new GigaScience article presents rich multi-dimensional data on a female dingo, Cooinda, including a whole genome sequence.

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1,600 plant extracts reveal their secrets

- January 18, 2023

A GigaScience Data Note presents a searchable library of spectra and molecules found in a collection of 1,600 plant extracts.

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Celebrating and innovating: This was 2022 at GigaScience Press

- December 20, 2022

tortoise with Santa hat

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 […]

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What’s your poison? Venom composition of 26 deadly snakes

- December 14, 2022

green mamba

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 […]

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Not all species are equal: Using the h-index to quantify taxonomic bias (author Q&A)

- 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.

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3D imaging of the proteus, a mysterious cave-dwelling salamander

- April 6, 2022

Newly published high-resolution images of the head of the blind salamander Proteus anguinus reveal adaptations for life in the dark.

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Genomic and genetic tools for the helmeted honeyeater, Victoria’s endangered state bird

- 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 […]

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