There’s a fish that flaps its fins like a bird, eats jellies, and likes to sunbathe—and this month, Ocean Genome Legacy (OGL) received its valuable fully sequenced genome. The ocean sunfish, the largest bony fish and one of the most bizarre species in the world, is...
With lifespans as long as 4,000 years, deep-sea black corals are some of the longest-living creatures on earth. They are also some of the world’s most threatened species. That’s why Ocean Genome Legacy (OGL) is embarking on a new initiative to preserve, document, and...
Ocean Genome Legacy’s (OGL) mission got a boost last week from the National Park Service, which celebrated its 100th birthday with a bioblitz! On September 24, OGL joined the National Park Service and National Geographic to document marine biodiversity in the Boston...
Did you know that sepsis, an overreaction of the immune system to infection, is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in the United States alone? To combat this deadly condition, Ocean Genome Legacy (OGL) is contributing to important immune...
What better place to study ocean life than an island? That’s why the Ocean Genome Legacy (OGL) crew packed up our buckets and headed to the quaint fishing village of Menemsha, Martha’s Vineyard, at the end of July to host the first annual Bioblitz on Menemsha Beach....
Seaweed is far more helpful than the smelly, dried-up clusters on the beach suggest. In fact, you may use extracts from these colorful plant-like algae to wash your hair, brush your teeth, and even indulge in ice cream! Soon enough, you may find biofuel from seaweed...
Every day, scientists race against extinction to study and preserve millions of species that hold important clues for medicine, biotechnology, and sustainability. But what happens if these experts speak different languages, use different procedures, and can’t easily...
Endangered dolphins, sharks, seahorses, and other species need your help! Many of these threatened species are disappearing before they can be discovered and catalogued. We desperately need ways to preserve knowledge that may lead to their recovery and future...
Squid, horseshoe crabs, and sea anemones are fascinating representatives of ocean life. And as new additions to the Ocean Genome Legacy (OGL) biorepository, they are important “model” organisms essential to biomedical research. Why are these sea creatures “models”?...
Last month, Ocean Genome Legacy (OGL) collaborators announced the discovery of the largest sponge in the world. Thanks to OGL’s customized DNA preservation kit, scientists can now study the genetic secrets of this deep-sea giant. The science team of the National...