TREC is underway!

EMBL’s planetary biology flagship TREC expedition has officially started. The new project applies EMBL's expertise and technologies in molecular and cellular biology to current environmental challenges, and connects with a wide range of research disciplines.

EMBL’s sample processing lab at Lorient alongside the Tara research schooner. Credit: Kinga Lubowiecka/EMBL

Public and media events in Lorient, France, on 1 and 2 April marked the departure of the Tara research schooner to join the TREC expedition, and EMBL was represented at the festivities by Director of EMBL Heidelberg and TREC Coordinator Peer Bork and other team members, and with the new sample processing lab on display.

Some research activities and visits with schools were held in Roscoff in the final week of March, and the formal start of the project followed on 3 April with research activities in Roscoff. These included sampling in partnership with Tara and the Station Biologique de Roscoff and media visits. Activities for the public will be held over the Easter weekend.

The TREC website includes additional information and news, with sections about the expedition route, the network of TREC partners and associated projects, the new EMBL Mobile Services, and the public engagement and outreach activities around the route.

You can follow the expedition on Twitter @EMBLtrec or on the main EMBL Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. You can learn more about the expedition here.