NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 3, 2025--
Dante Omics AI, Rockefeller University, Giunta Lab, Sapienza University, University of Tennessee, Trieste Area Science Park and University of L’Aquila published the successful assembly of a near-complete human diploid reference genome for one of the world’s most widely used cell lines.
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This breakthrough provides a reference-quality blueprint of the RPE-1 cell line, a workhorse in laboratories around the globe. Dante Omics leveraged its expertise with the Dante Labs genome sequencing test and then partnered with top tier global researchers for this project.
“Imagine trying to debug software when the source code is missing critical lines,” says Andrea Riposati, CEO of Dante Omics AI. “Now we have a precise source code for RPE-1 cells—down to the most complex, previously hidden regions of DNA like centromeres. This new reference genome is a game changer for all biotech firms advancing cell engineering and CRISPR gene editing.”
The RPE-1 line is not just any cell line — it’s one of the top three most used in cellular and molecular biology experiments worldwide, powering discoveries in genetics, cancer research, and drug development. By building the first high-accuracy, fully phased diploid genome for RPE-1, the team has leveraged short reads and long reads sequencing including PacBio and Oxford Nanopore technologies.
“We thank the Giunta Lab and our partners for this exciting project,” says Andrea Riposati.
The RPE1v1.1 assembly is publicly available through NCBI and the UCSC Genome Browser, ensuring open access for researchers worldwide.
The full paper was published on Nature Communications: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62428-z
More information at: danteomics.com
About Dante Omics AI
We are a leading provider of AI-powered genomics solutions, dedicated to accelerating discovery and improving patient outcomes through advanced computational biology tools. The company's innovative platform combines cutting-edge artificial intelligence with high-performance computing to deliver transformative genomic analysis capabilities for research institutions, clinical laboratories, and biotechnology companies worldwide.
Dante Labs Diploid Genome
BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was fatally shot at his home near Boston, and authorities said Tuesday they had launched a homicide investigation.
Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot Monday night at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. He died at a local hospital on Tuesday, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The prosecutor’s office said no suspects had been taken into custody as of Tuesday afternoon, and that its investigation was ongoing.
Loureiro, who joined MIT in 2016, was named last year to lead MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, where he aimed to advance clean energy technology and other research. The center, one of the school's largest labs, had more than 250 people working across seven buildings when he took the helm.
Loureiro, who was married, grew up in Viseu, in central Portugal, and studied in Lisbon before earning a doctorate in London, according to MIT. He was a researcher at an institute for nuclear fusion in Lisbon before joining MIT, it said.
“He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague and leader, and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner,” Dennis Whyte, an engineering professor who previously led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, told a campus publication.
The president of MIT, Sally Kornbluth, said in a statement that Loureiro’s death was a “shocking loss.”
The homicide investigation in Brookline comes as police in Providence, Rhode Island, about 50 miles away, continue to search for the gunman who killed two students and injured nine others at Brown University on Saturday. The FBI on Tuesday said it knew of no connection between the crimes.
A 22-year-old student at Boston University who lives near Loureiro's apartment in Brookline told The Boston Globe she heard three loud noises Monday evening and feared it was gunfire. “I had never heard anything so loud, so I assumed they were gunshots,” Liv Schachner was quoted as saying. “It’s difficult to grasp. It just seems like it keeps happening.”
Some of Loureiro's students visited his home, an apartment in a three-story brick building, Tuesday afternoon to pay their respects, the Globe reported.
The U.S. ambassador to Portugal, John J. Arrigo, expressed his condolences in an online post that honored Loureiro for his leadership and contributions to science.
“It’s not hyperbole to say MIT is where you go to find solutions to humanity’s biggest problems,” Loureiro said when he was named to lead the plasma science lab last year. “Fusion energy will change the course of human history.”
A notice encouraging neighbors of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro to display candles in their windows to honor his life is taped to an apartment door in Brookline, Mass., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
A crowd of people holding candles gather outside the home of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in Brookline, Mass., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
A crowd of people holding candles gather outside the home of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in Brookline, Mass., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
FILE - Students walk past the "Great Dome" atop Building 10 on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge, Mass., April 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
