RefSeq release 237 is now available online and from the FTP site! You can access RefSeq data through NCBI Datasets. The release is provided in several directories as a complete dataset and also as divided by logical groupings.
What’s included in this release?
As of August 31, 2026, this full release incorporates genomic, transcript, and protein data containing:
Are you heading to ASM BIG (Bioinformatics, Genomics, and Big Data Conference) in Washington, DC this fall? If so, make sure to register for the workshop hosted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) as part of the pre-conference activities. This workshop, Empowering Your Microbial Research with Expert Tools and Resources: Unlock the Power of NCBI Data, will showcase a suite of services designed specifically for researchers working with pathogenic bacteria. Whether you are new to genomic data analysis or an experienced scientist looking for advanced analysis tools, this hands-on workshop will introduce NCBI resources and workflows for working with pathogenic bacterial data.
Workshop goals
Continue reading “Register for NCBI’s Pre-Conference Workshop at ASM BIG 2026”
NCBI Virus is excited to announce the launch of a web interface for Viral Annotation DefineR (VADR). Web VADR can be used to validate and annotate virus sequence data using a web interface and does not require any command line setup like the standalone version. You can upload sequences through the web interface, start a VADR run, and download the results when processing is complete.
With just a few clicks in Web VADR you can:
Continue reading “Interactive Annotation for Viruses Using VADR”
NLM’s NCBI is excited to share the modernized look and functionality of two tools used for protein structure research: Structure Summary Pages and the Vector Alignment Search Tool (VAST). The updated versions are available to try now and will fully replace the current versions in October.
Structure Summary Pages show basic information about macromolecular structures and offer detailed 3D views to interactively study their shapes, functional sites, and how they bind to other molecules.
Our Vector Alignment Search Tool (VAST) helps you find and compare protein structures with similar 3D shapes. It uses simplified geometric representations to detect matching folding patterns and identify “structural neighbors,” which can reveal evolutionary relationships even when the protein sequences are very different. Continue reading “A Fresh Look for Exploring 3D Protein Structures and Finding Related Proteins”
We are excited to introduce the new NCBI Taxonomy, with updated tools and resources to improve how you browse taxonomic information and access NCBI data, including sequences, genomes, and other resources. Highlights of the redesigned site include the Taxonomy Browser, Common Tree, and Taxonomy name/ID check status tool.
Redesigned Taxonomy Browser
As previously announced, the new Taxonomy Browser provides search autosuggestions, more informed navigation, flexible tree views, and enhanced access to sequences, genomes, and other NCBI resources. Continue reading “NCBI Taxonomy Has a New Home”
GenBank release 273.0 (8/15/2026) is now available on the NCBI FTP site. This release has 60.07 trillion bases and 6.68 billion records.
The current release has:
Download the updated bacterial and archaeal reference genome collection! We built this collection of 23,519 genomes by selecting the “best” genome assembly for each species among the 500,000+ prokaryotic genomes in RefSeq.
Continue reading “Now Available: Updated Bacterial and Archaeal Reference Genome Collection”
NCBI’s BioCollections is a curated database of metadata for institutions that house specimens, cultures, and other biological materials. These institutions include museums, herbaria, stock centers, and culture collection centers. Each BioCollections record describes an institution and its collection, and includes standardized details such as the institution name, institution code, collection code, collection type, country, and available link out URL formula. When researchers submit sequences to NCBI, the BioCollections institution code and specimen identifier help link the sequence record to the corresponding physical specimen held in an institutional repository.
BioCollections is moving to a new home with an updated design where you can browse, search, and find a collection record. Continue reading “BioCollections: Connecting Sequence Data to Physical Specimens”
As shared in a previous National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Insights post, NCBI at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is making ongoing updates to several services to support implementation of the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, which went into effect on July 1, 2025. As part of the effort, NCBI has been exploring alternative strategies for helping institutions identify their funded articles and track manuscript submissions.
After September 30, 2026, the services that NCBI offers to assist institutions with public access compliance monitoring will move from the Public Access Compliance Monitor (PACM) to a new service within the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). After September 30 PACM will no longer be available.
The new service, the NIHMS Institutional Monitor, is now available to assist institutions who have received NIH awards to track the status of Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) submitted to the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system. Continue reading “Upcoming Transition of the Public Access Compliance Monitor (PACM) in Support of the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy”
RefSeq release 236 is now available online and from the FTP site! You can access RefSeq data through NCBI Datasets. The release is provided in several directories as a complete dataset and also as divided by logical groupings.
What’s included in this release?
As of July 6, 2026, this full release incorporates genomic, transcript, and protein data containing: