Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

Today’s episode is where Kevin Folta answers common questions from listeners. In the second half, we discuss the recent lawsuit against LaCroix and the alleged insecticides used as ingredients. # COLABRA Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/ # TALKING BIO...

Nitrogen is required for plant growth, and is a significant input in terms of cost and environmental impact. While plants are literally surrounded by nitrogen, it is present in the atmosphere in an unusable form. Some plants (like legumes) have the ability to fix nitrogen, converting it from a gas into a form the plant can use. The idea of somehow moving this important trait from legumes (or micro...

The drug thalidomide was developed with tremendous promise in managing a variety of disorders, such as anxiety and morning sickness.  However, a few years after its common use it became linked to a suite of birth defects, primarily defects in limb development.  For almost sixty years scientists have tried to unravel the molecular basis of its action.  Dr. Katherine Donovan is a postdoctoral resear...

There is a vanilla crisis.  The familiar flavor agent is a mixture of chemicals from an orchid- and there’s not enough being produced to satisfy demand.  But Dr. Alan Chambers knows that crisis and opportunity travel together.  He is currently engaging in breeding of vanilla orchids, hoping to improve yields and product quality.  In this episode he covers vanilla’s natural history, its current cha...

In framing effective discussions about any subject it is important to understand human psychology, and the mistakes we make in debate.  It also is important to understand how ingrained human tendencies shape our perceptions and skew our willingness to accept new information.  In this episode Itamar Schatz discusses these concepts, concepts that are the basis of his website Effectiviology . We disc...

The herbicide glyphosate has been in use for over 40 years.  It is non-selective (kills all plants), it is inexpensive and has extremely low toxicity.  These attributes made it an important tool for municipalities, farmers, and homeowners. Use increased starting in 1996 with the advent of glyphosate-tolerant (marketed under the brand name “Roundup Ready”) crops, which have expanded in acreage ever...

This last week podcast host Kevin Folta found himself in a difficult predicament.  There was palpable outrage by those affiliated with a science website where he participated in some of their activities.  Turns out that Folta also did paid work outside of his university job, which is normal.  He was retained by a law firm as a special matters expert, someone to analyze some data in a private media...

Malaria is a tremendous world health problem, affecting the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the developing (and industrialized) world. One of the most effective therapies is derived from a natural compound produced in the plant Artemisia annua.  In this week’s podcast Dr. Ian Graham from the University of York describes the problem of malaria, historical treatments, the use of artemesia...

The chicken is by far the most abundant animal farmed on earth, grown for meat and eggs.  But where did it come from?  What kinds of birds were domesticated?  When?  Where?  What were the traits that came from wild jungle fowl that give us today’s familiar bird?  These questions and more are answered by Dr. Greger Larson from Oxford University.  Dr. Larson combines data from genomics, archaeology,...

Plant disease resistance is a complicated arms race between the plant and pathogens.  Bacteria, viruses and fungi evolve in lock-step with plants, creating new ways to overcome new disease resistance strategies.  Resistance to disease has a foundation in the gene-for-gene model, a model that hypothesizes that plants and pathogens have a molecular relationship with each other that mediates pathogen...

Dr. David Just studies human behavior and how psychology ties in with economic decisions.  His work at Cornell examines the interesting overlays that cause consumers to behave how they do.  In this podcast we examine consumer decisions in food, including a discussion about soft drinks, ketchup, meat, and ingredients from genetically engineered crops.  We also touch on the “GMO labeling” issue. Fol...

Alfatoxins are a significant threat to human health and world food security.  They are naturally-occurring toxic compounds produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus and other species.  These fungi thrive on corn, peanuts, wheat, rice and other food staples, and grow well in stored food supplies.  The compounds are potent carcinogens, and it is estimated that billions of people suffer from chronic...

The 2016 World Food Prize went to a group that coordinated the breeding, promotion and distribution of the orange-fleshed sweet potato in Africa.  One of person on the team was economist Dr. Jan Low.  The sweet potato grows well in many parts of Africa.  It is not the sweet potato known to westerners.  It is white and dry, and more like bread than the well known Thanksgiving sweet potato.  At the...

Barley is an important grain, with prominent roles as the foundation of bread and beer.  Dr. Sheila Adimargono shares the interesting stories around barley’s history, the traits that early domesticators found useful, and information about its modern production.  The discussion covers everything from the evidence of barley’s origin to modern genomic analysis. Follow Sheila:    @seminisa # COLABRA T...

When social scientists examined messaging in new media around GE crops, a few trends became apparent.  Surprising evidence emerged that showed that the Russian Federation is actively participating in a campaign, here in the USA, to malign GE crops with a goal of influencing public opinion.  In this week’s episode Dr. Shawn Dorius from Iowa State University talks about the recent findings.  He desc...

Mark Lynas believed in his heart that he was doing the right thing.  He was joining others in tearing out field trials of GE crops, and effectively arrested research and development around crop biotechnology.  He participated in a movement that significantly shaped public opinion that influences policy to this day. But Mark is a scientific author, and when writing about climate change understood t...

The race to determine the structure of DNA has a dark subtext that is frequently ignored when discussing this seminal discovery in biology.  Competing groups at Cambridge and King’s College set their sights on resolving this important question. King’s College recruited a bright young x-ray crystalographer, a scientist that used energy to examine molecular structure. Her name was Dr. Rosalind Frank...

 Mexico is the center of origin for maize, and there is a substantial interest in protecting the genetic integrity of this limited resource.  At the same time Mexico’s population is growing, and farmers potentially find utility in growing genetically-engineered corn, as resistance to insects and lower pesticide use are attractive traits.  There is an intricate balance between feeding a population...

The internet claims that the increases in celiac disease is rooted in modern wheat varieties, as human intervention in plant genetics must be the cause of human disorders.  But what does the evidence tell us?  In this week’s episode we’re joined by Dr. Senay Simsek from North Dakota State University.  Dr. Simsek is a recognized chemist that specializes in wheat composition. Her recent paper in the...

Are food labels adding clarity or confusion?  Focus groups show that consumer sentiment toward food labels is changing.  Colleen Parr-Dekker is the Director of Communications at Elanco.  They have performed extensive focus group analysis and consumer surveys to understand how consumers feel about labels and food.  The excess of abstract information and claims has left most consumers unsure what la...

Dr. Devang Mehta has been working in virus suppression in cassava, a key food staple in the Developing world.  In this week’s podcast he speaks about the RNAi and gene editing approaches that are used to engineer resistant plants. Dr. Mehta describes the. nuts and bolts and successes and failures in applying new technology, and the things that are learned along the way.  Hosted by Dr. Paul Vincell...

Those that live in the affluent countries of the West have little clue of the challenges of farming in the Developing World.  In this special episode, Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam (@biobeef) of the University of California Davis interviews three experts that understand food security in their respective countries.  Dr. Emma Naluyima of Entebbe, Uganda is a veterinarian that feeds an extended family fro...

The Extension arm of the Land Grant University system provides a link between university research and the farm.  Extension specialists are professional liaisons that understand pressing issues, and seek remedies in the brain trust of the university. At the same time they communicate university-derived solutions to statewide clientele, providing a critical link that ensures relevance in research an...

The problem of farmer suicides in India is very real, and has been for some time. Suicides are driven by indebtedness, and there are many reasons that farmers find themselves in financially challenging times.  In the context of the biotech debates, some of seized on this tragedy and exploit it for political gain, blaming biotech crops for acrued debt. Vaishnavi Tripuraneni is a Ph. D. candidate at...

Dr. Monica Schmidt from the University of Arizona has an interest in using technology to make foods that are better for people.  Elimination of fungal toxins and enhanced production of key nutrients are two major areas of interest, and she has created lines that clearly are better for human health.  She also has an interest in using plants as factories for key proteins and enzymes.  Her laboratory...