We are experiencing issues with the Ensembl search system due to unforeseen errors. The search function is currently unavailable and this may affect other functions such as the loading of variants on genomic sequences. To search for entries in Ensembl, you can do one of the following:

  1. Use the EMBL-EBI website: go to https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ebisearch and enter your search terms into the text box. E.g. if you want to search for human BRCA2 in Ensembl, enter Ensembl human BRCA2 into the search text box.
  2. Use Google: to search for entries in Ensembl via Google, go to www.google.com and enter site:https://www.ensembl.org [search terms]. E.g. if you want to search for human BRCA2, enter site:https://www.ensembl.org human BRCA2 into Google.

We are working to fix this issue as quickly as possible, although a timeline is still unclear for the work to be completed. Services will be resumed as soon as the issue has been resolved. If you have any questions, please contact us on the Ensembl Helpdesk.

Today’s blog focuses on this year’s Google Summer of Code (GSoC). GSoC is an international program founded by Google in 2005 with the purpose of bringing together open-source organisations, and developers interested in contributing to open-source software and getting an exposure to real-world software development techniques. Host organisations list project ideas, and applicants discuss these ideas directly with mentors from the organisations and devise a project proposal to Google, who issue a small stipend to successful applicants.

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Ensembl VEP maps your variants to genes but what do those genes do?

The Gene Ontology (GO) annotates genes with molecular function, the cellular location in which the gene product functions and the biological process in which the gene product is involved. In addition to phenotype association information, which is only available for a few genes, we now show GO annotations to help guide variant prioritisation by providing an indication of the functionality a variant may affect.

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In Ensembl release 109, we introduce a new display that integrates experimentally verified interactions between genes, proteins, mRNA or other small molecules onto our gene pages. This adds an additional layer of data that enables deeper analysis into the ways species interact in a variety of contexts. So far, we have imported curated interactions from PHI-base, HPIDB, and PlasticDB for which we could find exact protein matches in Ensembl.

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We are pleased to announce the release of Ensembl 109, and the corresponding release of Ensembl Genomes 56. The release brings updates to donkey and horse assembly and lots of new Plants and Metazoa genomes. We have updated PolyPhen-2 and SIFT scores on VEP and Ensembl browser. And we have a shiny new resource that shows molecular interactions involving genes in Ensembl; ranging from pathogen-host interactions to symbiotic relationships across microbes and other Ensembl species.

New and exciting genome assemblies and annotations for many new species are being continuously added to the Ensembl Rapid Release genome browser.

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Firstly, a very happy new year from us at Ensembl. We spent last year adapting to the new and exciting challenges with the reopening of the Wellcome Genome campus. Like other research institutes around the world, EMBL EBI has risen to the occasion, acting swiftly to safeguard staff and students and embracing the new ways of hybrid working in creative and bold ways. 

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