International Society for Biocuration

Our #OxFOS26 session "Cultivating FAIR data across disciplines" is happening tomorrow 13.00–15.00 GMT! Please join @mattcannontf.bsky.social @becktaylorgrant.bsky.social and all of the people and groups mentioned in the @dri.ie's post below!
openaccess.ox.ac.uk/oxfos

🎤 Keynote Speaker Spotlight – #Biocuration2026

We welcome Dr @Melek Chaouch (Institut Pasteur of Tunisia & African Genomics Data Hub 🇹🇳), advancing genomics, bioinformatics, and data standardisation to strengthen African genomic research.

Join us at #IBC2026.

#Bioinformatics #Genomics #Africa

Empowering biological knowledgebases: advances in human-in-the-loop AI-driven literature curation Abstract. Biological knowledgebases facilitate discovery across the life sciences by structuring experimental findings into human-readable and computable f

From #OUP s @bioinfoadv.bsky.social journal | Empowering biological knowledgebases: advances in human-in-the-loop AI-driven literature #curation | #Bioinformatics #AI #LLM #OpenScience #Biocuration | 🧬 🖥️ 🧪 🔓
⬇️
academic.oup.com/bioinformati...

🆕 The @biogeneurope.bsky.social project - which now gives way to BGE+ - represented a landmark in European research collaboration, bringing together the #DNAbarcoding (@iboleurope.bsky.social) and #reference #genomes (@ergabiodiv.bsky.social) communities.

🔓 Grant Proposal: doi.org/10.3897/rio.....

Promo for a Data Documentation Initiative meeting titled “MIME Types for DDI.” Event details are listed: Wednesday, 25 March 2026 at 16:00 CET / 15:00 UTC. Additional info is provided via a link. The DDI logo appears at the top.

A discussion on whether #DDI #metadata #standards need MIME types sparked the formation of the Metadata Publication & Access Working Group (MPAWG)!

Learn more & join our next meeting: bit.ly/4lrGuel
📅 Wed, 25 Mar 2026, 16:00 CET / 15:00 UTC

ISB Virtual Conference Session 1 — Invitation via Google Calendar

we're hosting our next virtual conference series session "Curation Beyond Biocuration" next Monday, March 9th at 08:00–09:30 PT | 17:00–18:30 CET

📅 add to your calendar: calendar.app.google/AHeteeaeDzES...

ℹ️ more info: www.biocuration.org/events/biocu...

🔬✨ New in 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐀𝐜𝐭!

𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 (Nat Commun 2022) now integrated into IntAct - bringing high-quality, quantitative protein-protein interactions to the database.

Huge news 🌍🧬
The Protist 10,000 Genomes Project is joining the Earth BioGenome Project.
Protists may represent the majority of eukaryotic diversity — yet only a tiny fraction have reference genomes.
Time to change that. 🚀✨
Learn more 👉 ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/p10k/
#EBP #Protists #Genomics #TreeOfLife

This #RareDiseaseDay we’re highlighting how data sharing supports diagnosis, research & families living with rare conditions.
Watch to find out how access to rare disease data can help families better understand their children’s conditions.
@uniquecharity.bsky.social @geneticallianceuk.bsky.social

English: Stylized graphic of a human face formed by colorful horizontal bars (red, yellow, blue, and green) on a dark background. Text reads “Where It All Began” and “Every global genome effort starts with a first success,” with a white arrow pointing forward. Español: Gráfico estilizado de una doble hélice de ADN formada por barras horizontales de colores (rojo, amarillo, azul y verde) sobre un fondo oscuro. El texto dice “Where It All Began” y “Every global genome effort starts with a first success,” con una flecha blanca apuntando hacia adelante.

English: World map illuminated with glowing connection lines across continents, symbolizing global collaboration. Overlaid text explains that the Human Genome Project was the first international effort to assemble an entire genome—3 billion base pairs—and laid the foundation for initiatives like the Earth BioGenome Project to scale from one species to all life. Español: Mapa del mundo iluminado con líneas brillantes que conectan los continentes, simbolizando la colaboración global. El texto superpuesto explica que el Proyecto Genoma Humano fue el primer esfuerzo internacional para ensamblar un genoma completo—3 mil millones de pares de bases—y sentó las bases para iniciativas como el Earth BioGenome Project para escalar de una especie a toda la vida.

One genome changed everything.
The Human Genome Project showed us that:
• reference genomes are scientific infrastructure
• open data accelerates discovery
• collaboration makes scale possible
Those same principles now power a far bigger vision — understanding life across the entire Tree of Life. 🌳🧬

Do you work in a Global South country and would like to host a Workshop? Next deadline for topic proposals: 29 May 2026 The Company of Biologists logo to the left and a map of the world to the right, highlighting Global South countries in orange.

Additionally, we are again looking for proposals for the Global South. These proposals will differ from the standard Workshop programme as we will bring the event to your region. Find out more at
biologists.com/workshops/pr...
#BiologistsWorkshops

🎤 Invited Speaker Spotlight – #Biocuration2026
We’re delighted to welcome Dr Kobus Herbst (Africa Health Research Institute) as an Invited Speaker at #IBC2026. A leader in public health and population research, his work strengthens global health research systems.

The Health and Medical Care Archive (HMCA) is the data archive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care in the United States. Our goal is to build a culture of health by increasing the understanding of health and health care and the factors that contribute to health in the United States through secondary analysis of RWJF-supported data collections.

What is #HMCA? HMCA is committed to maintaining social science research data for the long term, for the benefit of future researchers, and to assist #RWJF data creators in meeting grant stipulations. Learn more here: myumi.ch/P3MM7 @rwjf.org @icpsr.bsky.social

Building a More Resilient Ecosystem for Publicly-Funded Research Data COS previously announced efforts to develop a community-driven strategic plan for long-term preservation, accessibility, and usability of federally-funded data. This post shares updates on the planning process.

Last November, COS announced efforts to develop a community-driven strategic plan for ensuring long-term preservation, accessibility, and usability of federally-funded scientific data. Our latest blog post shares an update on the planning process.

💡 Learn more & give input:

Great lab to go learn #bioinformatics, in the great city of #Montréal! #summerJob #summerintern

ICPSR logo and text: Recent Data Updates and Additions on a transparent background of blue wavy lines.

📈Data Alert!📈 ICPSR offers new and updated data to meet your research needs. Perfect for researchers, students, and data enthusiasts. Start exploring! Check it out ➡️ http://myumi.ch/ICPSR-new-releases

#NewReleases #DataUpdate #DataDriven

The 2026 Nature Awards for Inspiring Women in Science call for entries is open! One winner in each category, Scientific Achievement and Science Outreach, will receive a $50,000 prize, networking opportunities and more.  Apply before April 8 here: go.nature.com/4qxGZoH #WomeninSTEM

🛑 Engineering stop buttons: CRISPR KiSS system in #Yeast conditionally targets essential genes to inhibit growth.
Dual gRNA approach improves performance as researchers continue optimizing for cell factory applications

🧬 #YeastResearch 🧪 #SGD #SyntheticBiology
www.yeastgenome.org/reference/S1...

🎤 Keynote Speaker Spotlight – #Biocuration2026

Meet Prof. Ruth Lovering (University College London), a leader in biocuration for over 25 years and contributor to HGNC, Gene Ontology & IMEx.

We are honoured to welcome her as a Keynote Speaker at #IBC2026.

#Biocuration #Bioinformatics

🔊 Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn all about annotating eukaryotic genomes in this online course offered by @earlhaminst.bsky.social!
📅 Registration deadline: March 22
More information below 👇
#genome #annotation #workshop #training @ebpgenome.bsky.social

Neon-style graphic featuring an open book, geometric shapes, a column with a palm tree, and a computer with a courthouse. Text reads: Archives × Data Summer School, Paper meets digital documentation.

Registration is now open for the first summer school, organised by the Belgian Social Sciences and Digital Humanities Archive (SODHA) and supported by EDDI. Join us in Brussels (4-7 May)

Find out more at lnkd.in/eZY6jrVt

Scientific Committee Spotlight – #Biocuration2026
Meet Dr Verena Ras (University of Cape Town 🇿🇦), bioinformatics & genomics expert advancing training and capacity building across Africa. Honoured to have her on board!
#IBC2026 #ScientificCommittee #Bioinformatics #Genomics

🔬 #Biocuration2026 Spotlight
Dr Victoria Nembaware (UCT 🇿🇦) is advancing genomics, bioinformatics & data science training across Africa bridging research, education and real-world impact.
#IBC2026 #Genomics #CapacityBuilding

🎤 Keynote Speaker Spotlight – #Biocuration2026
Meet Prof. Alan Christoffels (SANBI 🇿🇦), a leading African voice in bioinformatics, genomics & public health. We’re honored to welcome him as a keynote speaker at #IBC2026. 🌍🧬

It's that time again! Join us for our Office Hours this week:

📅 Wednesday, Feb 25, 1 pm ET / 10 am PT

Zoom with FaceBase team members and ask questions about finding data, submitting data, citing data, and more things data!

Click here to register: usc.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Why volunteer time to help reannotate the #Arabidopsis genome? Because it's an indispensable community resource, says Anireddy Reddy of Colorado State, one of the volunteer researchers behind #TAIR12 🧪

Read more: phoenixbioinfo.org/meet-the-vol...

#plantscience #plantbiology

Graphic with three illustrated people and five pentagon shapes with white text reads, "Education Access and Quality | Health Care and Quality | Neighborhood and Built Environment | Social and Community Context | Economic Stability."

📚 New classroom-ready resource for #STEM educators!

Students will analyze authentic population health data to strengthen data literacy and critical thinking skills in this Health Disparities in Cancer module.

➡️ Lesson plans, slides and activities included: www.jax.org/education-an...

#iTeachBio

Call for Sessions: TDWG 2026 The annual conference of Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) is scheduled to take place from 21-25 September 2026 in Oslo, Norway. The official call for sessions is open, centering on this year&...

9 days left to submit a session proposal on the topic "Research and Robot-ready #Biodiversity #Data Standards?" for #tdwg2026

⏳ Deadline: 26 February 2026
👇Further details: bdj.pensoft.net/news/1091

The First Functional Traits Dataset for the Endemic Flora of Greece: morphology, ecology and ecosystem services Endemic plant taxa, which are often understudied due to their restricted populations and limited distribution, are a key focus in Greece, which is a major hotspot for plant diversity and endemism with...

New #data paper out! Explore the comprehensive functional trait database for 1,636 understudied #endemic #taxa of the Greek #flora.

This dataset provides critical insights into the unique #biodiversity of Greece 👇