With unique historical collections worth millions of dollars, staff at the HS/HSL weren’t taking any chances this past Friday as rain continued and Hurricane Joaquin began its slow trip up the east coast.  After Governor Hogan announced a state of emergency, the library team sprang into action, unfurling over 2000 square feet of protective plastic.  Rich Behles, Historical and Special Collections Librarian and Preservation Officer remarked, “We’ve had leaks in the historical collection stacks before. Knowing we were heading into a very wet weekend, where staff wouldn’t be monitoring the situation in the Woodward Historical Suite, we decided we would rather be safe than sorry.” And all that was well, ended well. There were no leaks, drips or precipitation of any type.

From October 13th to October 23rd, NCBI will present the first iteration of NCBI NOW, a free online experience aimed at those new to next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis. Enrollment in this course is limited to the first 1,000 participants who sign up through the ORAU Portal: https://oraulearning.org/?partition=ncbi. Since enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis, please only sign up for this educational opportunity if you will be able to participate fully.

Learners will watch 6-7 videos (average video duration: 45-60 minutes) online during the first 7 days of the course. These videos will cover the basics of NGS data, preprocessing, quality control and alignment strategies for both DNA-Seq and RNA-Seq, as well as a brief discussion of downstream analysis. Additionally, we will demonstrate how to leverage BLAST tools for NGS analysis.

Next, participants will apply a selection of RNA-Seq alignment algorithms over three days (1-2 hours per day), mapping RNA-Seq data to GRCh38 chromosome 20. Finally, participants will compare the results of these mappers for specific genes. Throughout the course, participants will be able to post questions at Biostars; experts from NCBI and elsewhere will be available online to answer questions.

Learners will emerge from the course equipped to map their own RNA-Seq or DNA-Seq data to the human genome, understand the options for downstream analysis, and use their understanding of the basic steps of data processing to interact more effectively with bioinformatician collaborators.

Need help with a literature review for class? Consider signing up for the Literature Reviews: An Overview for Students workshop. This introductory workshop will help you start the process of writing a literature review. In this workshop we will discuss strategies for focusing your topic, searching for and managing literature, and synthesizing information. For full workshop schedule and registration, click here.