Latest posts
Curators Capture Cambridge. Biocuration 2019
Chris Armit - May 6, 2019
The 12th International Biocuration Conference was held in Cambridge, UK from April 7-10th 2019. As regular participants of the meeting you can read our write-ups of the meeting going back to 2012. This is a forum for biocurators and developers to discuss their work and to promote collaboration. GigaScience had a visible presence at Biocuration […]
DNA Day 2019: How to sequence the genomes of the weird and wonderful
Hans Zauner - April 25, 2019
It’s DNA day, commemorating the publication of the structure of DNA in 1953, as well as the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. Genomics has come a long way since then. Today it is possible to sequence whole genomes with a very reasonable investment of time and money. What an amazing time for […]
Presenting the FAIRsharing community network
Scott Edmunds - April 3, 2019
FAIRer Sharing via FAIRsharing Our aim at GigaScience is to provide the means to open up and share research data. On top of just making these available via our (new look) GigaDB database, we’ve been involved with communities that wants to maximize the utility of these research outputs by making them FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable […]
Lost worlds: via Sketchfab a 3D fossil offers a glimpse of prehistoric marine life
Chris Armit - April 1, 2019
Just out in full text is a our first paper showcasing our latest complete integration with the Sketchfab 3D viewer. In this a 3D fossil seabed from the lower Devonian geologic period has been digitally reconstructed using micro X-ray computed tomography (microCT) imaging. A section of the fossil bed, measuring 2 x 1 metres wide […]
Citizen Science goes mainstream. Back at the UN with the Citizen Science Global Partnership.
Scott Edmunds - March 29, 2019
Citizen Science at UNEA4 As GigaScience has the aim of opening and democratising science as far as it can go, we even work towards the involvement of non-professional “citizen scientists” in the scientific process. Regular readers of this blog and journal will have seen the many crowdfunded and educational community genome projects we have promoted […]
Visualising Biological Data. GigaScience at VIZBI
Chris Armit - March 22, 2019
The 10th anniversary of the EMBO Workshop: Visualising Biological Data (VIZBI 2019) took place in EMBL in Heidelberg last week. GigaScience Data Scientist Chris Armit was there and was astonished at the cinematic quality of the visualisations that were showcased over this 3-day meeting. VIZBI aims to improve the global standard of data visualisation in […]
GigaScience at ESRIC Super-Resolution Clinic
Chris Armit - March 4, 2019
The diffraction limit of a microscope hinders the ability to see single molecules as the optics do not allow the researcher to distinguish between two fluorescently labelled molecules that are less than 200nm apart. As a means of overcoming this barrier, super-resolution microscopy utilises various tricks to go beyond the diffraction limit and image sub-cellular […]
Genomes from paradise
Hans Zauner - January 30, 2019
New genomic data from five birds-of-paradise reveal genes that are shaped by selection and help explain the origin of their spectacular plumage. Birds-of-paradise, with their elaborate and colorful feathers and their complex courtship displays, are a school-book example of sexual selection. However, little is known about the genetic variants that distinguish the lavishly colored birds-of-paradise […]
Planetary Genomes. Creating a Digital Botanical Garden.
Scott Edmunds - January 28, 2019
Our Biggest Dataset Yet. Oh, Ruili? A new Data Note provides genome sequencing data that effectively triples the number of plant species with available genome data. This mammoth amount of work comes on the back of the growing efforts of the scientific community to sequence more plant genomes to aid in understanding their complex evolution […]
Authorship Down. Tackling Misguided Incentives.
Scott Edmunds - January 14, 2019
Assuring Appropriate Authorship. In our day-to-day work at GigaScience many of the most common and reoccurring problems we keep encountering relate to appropriate authorship. In this “publish or perish” world of science, getting authorship right is of course important. There are many issues that underlie the appropriateness of authorship, but fortunately there are internationally recognised […]