Tag Archives: bonnie hurwitz

Researcher Uses ‘Shotgun Sequencing’ to Study Microorganisms

Bonnie Hurwitz’s genome sequencing research aims to help doctors offer more personalized treatment plans more quickly.

The rice genome. The grape genome. The original human genome project. You name it, Bonnie Hurwitz probably worked on it in her 12 years as a computational biologist in industry, where she combined her loves for genomics and computer programming. (more…)

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UA Scientists Help Discover Most Abundant Ocean Virus

Researchers have discovered four previously unknown viruses that infect the Earth’s most abundant organism, the marine bacterium SAR11. Because of their huge numbers, these tiny players have critical roles in the global cycle of carbon and other nutrients.

The greatest battle in Earth’s history has been going on for hundreds of millions of years, isn’t over yet, and until now no one knew it existed, scientists reported today in the journal Nature.

In one corner is the Earth’s most abundant organism: SAR11, an ocean-living bacterium that survives where most other cells would die and plays a major role in the planet’s carbon cycle. It had been theorized that SAR11 was so small and widespread that it must be invulnerable to attack. (more…)

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