Frontiers Forum Deep Dive series: Biological ‘moonshot’ accelerates efforts to genetically map life on Earth

A complimentary virtual symposium from the Frontiers Forum

2025-09-04

(Press-News.org) The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is a global network of scientists sequencing the genomes of Earth’s eukaryotes. They aim to create a digital library of DNA sequences to help us preserve and protect life on Earth, and tackle rapid environmental change and biodiversity loss.

Thanks to major technical advances, high-quality genomes can be produced 10 times faster and at significantly lower cost than before. Now, published in a Frontiers in Science lead article, the EBP Community of Scientists has revealed a refined strategy to scale up the sequencing of 150,000 species.

Join the article authors—Prof Harris Lewin, Prof Mark Blaxter, and Dr Dr Federica Di Palma—to hear how EBP’s next phase will accelerate biodiversity research, support global conservation, and extend genomic benefits to underserved regions using mobile sequencing labs.

Alongside a panel of fellow experts, they will explore the importance of open data sharing, training local scientists, and sequencing at the source—ensuring inclusivity, capacity-building, and benefit-sharing, especially in the Global South.

This free webinar takes place on 18 September 2025, 16:00-17:30 CEST.

The Earth BioGenome Project Phase II: illuminating the eukaryotic tree of life | Register

Frontiers Forum Deep Dive sessions bring researchers, policy experts, and innovators together from around the world, to discuss a specific area of transformational science published in Frontiers' flagship, multidisciplinary journal, Frontiers in Science, and explore next steps for the field.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

After early-life stress, astrocytes affect behaviour

2025-09-04

Canadian researchers show that stress modifies the morphology of brain cells in mice, directly influencing the rodents’ level of physical activity. Astrocytes in the lateral hypothalamus region of the brain, an area involved in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness, play a key role in neuron activity in mice and affect their behaviour, Canadian researchers have found. Led by Ciaran Murphy-Royal of Université de Montréal’s affiliated hospital research centre, the CRCHUM, the scientists detail their finding in a study published in Nature Communications. In ...

UMD developing AI-powered warning system to predict disease tied to extreme weather

2025-09-04

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The University of Maryland will lead an eight-country research consortium to develop an artificial intelligence-powered early warning system to help communities prepare for and respond to diarrheal disease risks – and potentially other conditions – worsened by extreme weather events. Americans and people around the globe are grappling with increasing incidence of extreme weather, from flooding to droughts. Now, funded by a three-year, $1.9 million joint grant, the Awareness Against Health Threats of Extreme Weather Events (AWARE) project will unite University of Maryland researchers with partners from Nepal, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, ...

New study links grain foods to healthier diet patterns, metabolic health and everyday accessibility

2025-09-04

WASHINGTON – Sept. 4, 2025 – With so much confusion around what makes a grain food truly healthy, new research now offers a clearer picture: a combination of grain foods can support better nutrition and metabolic health when they deliver on nutrient density. A new study published in Nutrients, which analyzed the diets of more than 14,000 Americans over five years, found that both whole and refined grain foods play a role in improved diet quality, nutrient intake and everyday accessibility. Conducted by researchers at the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington, the peer-reviewed study analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination ...

Korea University College of Medicine explores 'Health for Humanity' at K-CLUB International Symposium with world-renowned scholars

2025-09-04

On Friday, July 4, the Korea University College of Medicine hosted the K-CLUB (Korea Club for Leading-edge University Biomedical-science) International Symposium at the SK Future Hall on the university’s Seoul campus in Seongbuk District, bringing together distinguished global scholars for an in-depth examination of “Health for Humanity.” This year’s inaugural K-CLUB International Symposium was organized to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthen global research networks in addressing shared challenges facing humanity, including ...

Regular walking prevents chronic back pain

2025-09-04

A major study has investigated the relationship between walking and the risk of developing chronic lower back problems. The findings could save the healthcare system significant amounts of money while also alleviating many people’s back pain – if we just follow the simple advice provided. The results are clear: People who walk a lot have less back pain than people who do not walk much – and the volume is what matters most, not the intensity.. It is better to walk a lot than to walk fast. “People who walk more than 100 minutes every day have a ...

Broccoli seeds can spread resistance to multiple fungicides

2025-09-04

Key Points: Researchers screened commercial broccoli seeds for Alternaria brassicicola, a fungal pathogen. They found that seeds can harbor A. brassicicola and can spread resistance to multiple fungicides that growers use to try to manage A. brassicicola. Based on the findings, the researchers developed a faster way for detecting and monitoring fungicide resistance. Washington, D.C.—A new study found evidence that commercial broccoli seeds can harbor a fungal seedborne pathogen, Alternaria brassicicola, with cross resistance to 2 commonly used fungicides. The finding highlights the need to include ...

New AI tool addresses accuracy and fairness in data to improve health algorithms

2025-09-04

New York, NY [September 4, 2025]—A team of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has developed a new method to identify and reduce biases in datasets used to train machine-learning algorithms—addressing a critical issue that can affect diagnostic accuracy and treatment decisions. The findings were published in the September 4 online issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research [DOI: 10.2196/71757]. To tackle the problem, the investigators developed AEquity, a tool that helps detect and correct bias in health care datasets before they are used to train artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning models. The investigators tested AEquity ...

Researchers design robot that can find, pick hidden strawberries

2025-09-04

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Strawberries are delicate and hard to harvest—easily bruised and often hidden under a canopy of leaves. This creates headaches for scientists trying to design robotic harvesters. Now a Washington State University-led team has designed one that combines an artificial-intelligence vision system, soft silicone “fingers,” and a fan that gently move leaves out of the way to get at hidden fruit. Experiments in the lab and in outdoor fields showed that the harvester correctly detected strawberries 80% of the time, on average, and could classify whether the berries were hidden 93% of the time. The design, development ...

Effective urban planning from real-world population tracking

2025-09-04

Tracking human behavioral patterns in cities can be used to determine urban delineations and urban land use, which has the potential to improve urban planning. Urban areas are human settlements, typically cities, characterized by high population densities and built infrastructure. Urban areas need to be carefully planned, to ensure they are safe and sanitary. They are not self-sustaining but are dependent on an influx of essential resources. Delineating urban areas is of great importance for planning and governance. Historically, this has been determined by establishing administrative boundaries and ...

EWG study: PFAS water treatment has double benefits, cutting toxic PFAS and carcinogens

2025-09-04

WASHINGTON – Advanced systems for removing the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS from drinking water can deliver far greater health benefits than previously thought. They also slash levels of other harmful contaminants, a new peer-reviewed Environmental Working Group study finds. The research underscores the fact that PFAS water filtration systems can also help reduce levels of cancer-causing disinfection byproducts, or DBPs, agricultural nitrates and heavy metals like arsenic ...

Frontiers Forum Deep Dive series: Biological ‘moonshot’ accelerates efforts to genetically map life on Earth

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: