Jeffrey Epstein’s tissue samples ignited a furor in the Harvard lab of George Church, reports @mmolteni.bsky.social in this @statnews.com exclusive. 13 years later, the whereabouts of the sex offender’s skin cells are a mystery www.statnews.com/2026/02/24/e...

Jeffrey Epstein’s tissue samples ignited a furor in the Harvard lab of George Church

Exclusive: Harvard geneticist George Church knew more about Jeffrey Epstein's activities than he has previously said, before accepting new donations from the sex offender.

statnews.com

Illumina officially launches TruPath, their pseudo-long read sequencing kit (formerly called Constellation), at #AGBT #AGBT25 www.illumina.com/company/news...

Illumina launches TruPath Genome, setting a new standard in genomic insight

illumina.com

I have a little more detail and some commentary here - sandiegomics.com/element-join...

Element Joins the High-Throughput Market with the VITARI Platform

Back at JPM Element teased that they would be coming out with the VITARI, a benchtop sequencer capable of generating whole genomes for $100. This would best Illumina’s list price of $200 with the N…

sandiegomics.com

Element Biosciences@elembio.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Today we’re thrilled to introduce VITARI™ — the first high-throughput benchtop sequencing system delivering a $100 genome. “VITARI is about removing the limits from scientific ambition” — Molly He, CEO & Co-Founder, Element Learn more about VITARI: https://bit.ly/3OqIS8v.

Element reveals more information about their VITARI platform, a foray into the high-throughput sequencing market. sandiegomics.com/element-join...

Element Joins the High-Throughput Market with the VITARI Platform

Back at JPM Element teased that they would be coming out with the VITARI, a benchtop sequencer capable of generating whole genomes for $100. This would best Illumina’s list price of $200 with the N…

sandiegomics.com

PacBio’s very expensive foray into short read sequencing is now officially over. 🙄 www.pacb.com/press_releas...

PacBio Completes Sale of Short-Read Sequencing Assets - PacBio

MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PacBio (NASDAQ: PACB), a leading developer of high-quality, highly accurate sequencing solutions, today announced the completion of the sale of sel...

pacb.com

Non-coding DNA's Alpha Moment 🧬🖥️ omicsomics.blogspot.com/2026/02/non-...

Some close encounters with Jim Watson: www.genengnews.com/topics/omics...

DNA and the Unraveling of James Watson

A personal reflection on the life, legacy, and controversies of DNA co-discoverer James Watson, following his death at age 97.

genengnews.com

Some consolidation in the single cell space - 10X Genomics (@10xgenomics.bsky.social) set to acquire Scale Biosciences www.genengnews.com/topics/omics...

10x Genomics Scales Up, Agrees to Acquire Scale Biosciences

An exclusive interview with Serge Saxonov of 10x Genomics and Giovanna Prout of Scale Biosciences on what the acquisition means for single cell genomics.

genengnews.com

📢 We are very proud to announce that over 50 of our #AVITI24 5D #multiomic systems have already been installed around the globe enabling scientists to unravel the most complex questions about our biology. bit.ly/458UCky

Element Biosciences Surpasses 50 AVITI24™ 5D Multiomic System Installations In Just Months

Element Biosciences today announced that installations of its flagship AVITI24 5D Multiomic system have surpassed 50 units globally.

bit.ly

Atlas, Twist's DNA data storage spin-off, is claiming that "pretty quickly" the majority of DNA sequencing (by "orders of magnitude") will be for reading data storage. I'm skeptical. Maybe we have different definitions of "pretty quickly". #dnasynth #datastorage www.genomeweb.com/business-new...

Quick update on this - a good one! Thanks to our fantastic colleagues at county HHSA, we're able to continue our wastewater surveillance work, including generating retroactive data from the last few months, as well as new data moving forward. For how long, we'll see, but expect updates soon! 🌟❤️

Kristian G. Andersen@kgandersen.bsky.social · last yr.

Very thankful to @sandiegouniontribune.com for covering the termination of our wastewater surveillance in San Diego. If we don't want to lose sight of infectious diseases in our community, we need new funding - please reach out: searchcovid.info www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/04/07/d...

Updated a broken link in my substack post about the #ColossalBio #DeExtinction #DisInformation campaign – dire wolves are still extinct. open.substack.com/pub/devoevom...

The Extinction of Truth

Or, a Colossal Pile of Bullshit

open.substack.com

Illumina goes “all in” on proteomics by purchasing SomaLogic (from Standard BioTools). Can they overtake Olink? www.illumina.com/company/news...

Illumina to acquire SomaLogic, accelerating its proteomics business and advancing the company's multiomics strategy

illumina.com

Can't wait to listen to this one!

Keith Robison@omicsomics.bsky.social · last yr.

Had a fun chat recently with Kevin Libuit on his The Bioinformatics Lab podcast on.soundcloud.com/2hxiS7sDlK0x...

www.genengnews.com/topics/artif...

Xaira Therapeutics Releases Largest Perturb-Seq Dataset to Power the Virtual Cell

The AI unicorn's Perturb-seq atlas is publicly available and detects dose-dependent genetic effects to enhance predictive power for drug discovery.

genengnews.com

The most charitable thing I can say about Twist’s (@twistbioscience.com) China tariff request is that it’s “unconvincing”. Tariffs aren’t the way to protect IP. This is just about making Chinese DNA more expensive. endpoints.news/twist-biosci... downloads.regulations.gov/BIS-2025-002...

@jaredwhitlock.bsky.social has written an article about the many new companies spun out/spawned by ex-Illuminites. In it he references the crowdsourced "Illumina Diaspora" database Millard Chan and I created to keep track of them all. sandiegomics.com/illumina-dia... endpts.com/how-illumina...

DNA giant Illumina spawned an ecosystem of competitors and customers

For Illumina, its former employees are both a boon and a problem. In the 27 years since its founding, the DNA sequencing company unlocked new frontiers in biology, medicine and ...

endpts.com

Roche has finally given their upcoming DNA sequencer a name - Axelios. So now we can stop calling it "Genia + Stratos". www.genomeweb.com/molecular-di...

Roche Highlights New Tests, Instrument Launches at Investor Day

The firm touted new assays, provided an update on its nanopore sequencer, and offered insights into upcoming pipeline launches.

genomeweb.com

Illumina hasn't had a lot of wins recently. I think they'd count this as a win. endpts.com/sec-expected...

Exclusive: SEC expected to drop investigation of Illumina's $8B Grail deal

The SEC is expected to drop an investigation into Illumina's $8 billion acquisition of cancer test developer Grail, Endpoints News has learned.

endpts.com

This has to be one of the most "anti-science" and "anti-common sense" administrations the US has ever had. Tariffs are a tax, pure and simple and the consumer will be the one to pay the cost.

Graham Wiley@gbw42.bsky.social · last yr.

Tariffs hit the $ILMN supply chain.

@twistbioscience.com is spinning out their DNA data storage tech. Atlas Data Storage is kicking off with $155M in "seed" funding 😳 That's a lot of "seed" for a market that doesn't exist yet. Best of luck! #dnasynthesis investors.twistbioscience.com/news-release...

Novartis announced a big commitment/addition to the San Diego biotech scene. www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/04/10/a...

Amid tariff turmoil, Swiss drugmaker commits to build $1.1B research hub in San Diego

Novartis plans to make San Diego the center of its West Coast research hub.

sandiegouniontribune.com

Things just keep getting worse for ILMN. Stagnant growth, increased competition from @elembio.bsky.social and Ultima, the threat of competition from Roche SBX, and now they’re shut down in China where they get 7% of their revenue. Yikes. www.reuters.com/business/hea...

China bans imports of Illumina's gene sequencers right after Trump tariff action

China announced a ban on Tuesday on imports of genetic sequencers from U.S. medical equipment maker Illumina , just minutes after U.S. President Donald Trump's additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods took effect.

reuters.com

Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...

Wow, perhaps Tang Capital was just trying to buy Singular Genomics to shut them down for the cash. I assumed Tang was trying to combine them with other acquisitions. Glad they weren’t the winning bid.

Adam Feuerstein✡️@adamfeuerstein.bsky.social · last yr.

How to eliminate biotech zombies: Buy them www.statnews.com/2025/02/27/b...

RNA xkcd.com/3056

Xenium product updates : RNA and protein multiomics workflow @10xgenomics.bsky.social #AGBT2025 #AGBT25

#visiumhd product updates : segmentation , visium HD XL , visium hd 3’ @10xgenomics.bsky.social #agbt25

Looking forward to seeing what 10X has in store for 2025

10x Genomics@10xgenomics.bsky.social · last yr.

We’re getting revved up for our pre-conference workshop this afternoon – and it’s going to be high octane. We’re starting at 1:30 PM in the Banyan ballroom. If you’re following along from home, don’t forget to tune into the livestream: bit.ly/4gB5z2g

I am the features editor at Endpoints News. We're closely reporting on the Trump administration slashing the federal workforce and the impact on biomedical research. I want to hear your stories and tips. Signal at: @jaredwhitlock.73. I can honor requests for anonymity.