Welcome to the new home of OGL news posts! We’ve redesigned our Newsletter to show you stories more often, with a brief overview in the email and the full story here. We always welcome your thoughts and questions in the Comments section.
We hope you enjoy this new way of exploring the latest activities at OGL!
By Emily Stangel, Collection Assistant Co-op and Dan Distel, Director of OGL We are excited to announce that the Ocean Genome Legacy Center (OGL) has joined the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP)! A global network of more than 60 affiliated organizations and initiatives,...
By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel A specimen of American anglerfish Lophius americanus. (Credit: Mike Beauregard from Nunavut, Canada - pull my finger, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34612997) Sometimes the answers to challenges on land can...
By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel Get ready for Halloween by learning about a spooky species that OGL has in our very own biorepository: the skeleton shrimp! These fascinating creatures are also known as “ghost shrimp” because of their ability to hide along...
By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel In a new publication, researchers use paper waste to feed Teredinibacter turnerae bacteria strains that in turn produce high-value antibiotics and enzymes, such as Turnercyclamycin and Tartrolon E. (Image credit: Gerton et al. 2025)....
By Julia DiPinto, Hannah Appiah-Madson, Rosie Poulin, and Dan Distel Scientists generally consider cryopreservation—flash-freezing at extremely low temperatures—the gold standard for preserving DNA in tissues. However, there is an often-overlooked issue: tissues must...
By Julia DiPinto and Dan Distel Everyone loves sea stars—but did you know they are keystone predators that help shape and maintain the biodiversity of our coastal ecosystems? That is why Angela Jones, a dedicated PhD candidate, educator, and researcher at the Marine...
By Julia DiPinto, Hannah Appiah-Madson, and Dan Distel We all know that researchers use DNA to search for hidden answers in living organisms. To do that, researchers must first ensure that their DNA samples are high quality before use. But how do they do...
By Dan Distel Protection for endangered species means a great deal to the Ocean Genome Legacy Center—and to the U.S. Congress, if the text of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is any indication. Polls show that more than 80 percent of Americans also support the ESA....
By Syringa Barenti, Ainsley Derosier, Akancha Singh, Hannah Appiah-Madson, and Dan Distel Antarctica is undergoing some of the most rapid environmental changes on the planet, putting its unique species at risk of endangerment or extinction. To help preserve this...
By Lauren McDowell, Community Outreach Manager for SSC’s Marine Mammal Rescue; Hannah Appiah-Madson, Collections Manager; and Dan Distel, Director for Ocean Genome Legacy The Ocean Genome Legacy Center (OGL) of Northeastern University and The Seacoast Science Center...