Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

Pork production worldwide is limited by a series of viral pig diseases that slow growth, cause illness and restrict reproduction.  One of these is known as PRRS, Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive …

While Indian farmers have realized benefits from GE cotton, food crops have been forbidden from this growing country.  Their neighbor to the west, Bangladesh, has realized great gains from the “Bt” B…

The war against agricultural biotechnology shifted in the last several years.  Carefully constructed steps by those opposed to technology have managed to malign a relatively innocuous compound– the h…

The visions of Jurassic Park are an extrapolation of actual research being performed all over the world.  Research has shown that avian dinosaurs (birds) possess latent genes that can be re-activated…

Technology is exploding in all areas of life, but sadly has been slow to reach agriculture.  We are stuck in the rhythms of old unsustainable practices.  But things are changing quickly thanks to dat…

There is sad irony that the African continent has the most potential benefit from crop biotechnology, yet has the least access to the technology.  The bottlenecks are political, not scientific, as ex…

Blackberries are a popular, healthy fruit with increasing availability to the consumer.  Over the last century significant progress has been made in its genetic improvement.  In this episode the hist…

Huanglongbing, or HLB, is the Chinese term for the Yellow Dragon Disease– usually referred to as Citrus Greening.  The disease first appeared in the USA in the Miami area in 2005, and since has sprea…

Dr. Linda Bartoshuk has been recognized as an expert on interactions between the smell, taste, psychology and the brain for many decades.  While so important to our experiences, smell and taste are p…

I was very excited to be participating in the Southern Seed School here in Gainesville, FL.  I had talks prepared on three cool topics– the history of the University of Florida plant breeding program…

Cowpea is a critical crop in Western Africa.  It is consumed by millions daily, but also feeds livestock, all the while providing important nitrogen fixation for the farm.  Cowpea cultivation is thre…

One of the limiting factors in photosynthesis is the plant’s ability to take up carbon dioxide to assimilate into carbohydrates. At least part of the problem is the size of the small pores, or stomat…

Sleep remains a mystery to science, as it is a state where an organism is vulnerable to potentially deadly forces.  It therefore must be important to physiology and survival.  Prof. Lior Appelbaum an…

Soybeans are legumes that produce abundant oil.   The oils have been popular for consumers and in food service, but they could have improved performance in cooking applications and also did not have …

The transgenic, fast-growing salmon was first developed in 1989.  The goal was simple, use fish genes to remove seasonal growth effects, with the hopes of creating a fish that could grow faster.  Fas…

Anthony Warner is known as The Angry Chef, achieving notoriety as a food-fad/social critic.  He has roots in biochemistry and trained as a chef, with years of experience in a variety of cooking venue…

Today’s graduate students understand that participation in science communication can significantly enhance a scientific career.  While there are challenges, the idea of being willing to share science…

Military preparedness means testing ammunition and ordinates in controlled field trials, as well as decommissioning of obsolete weaponry.  The result is a significant environmental deposit of residue…

The report saturated the popular media, claims that the herbicide glyphosate increased cancer risk by 41%.  This alarming statistic punctuated news reports, based on a new analysis of old data perfor…

In the days of fear-based food labeling the market has been screaming for a science-friendly alternative.  Ethos Chocolates are distributed for free by A Fresh Look, an independent organization of fa…