Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

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...

Many important enzymes, industrial and therapeutic proteins are manufactured using transgenic plants.  Plants offer many benefits to protein production over animal cells and microbes for many applications.   In this episode Dr. Beth Hood from Arkansas State University and Infinite Enzymes joins the podcast to talk about the history of making proteins in plants, the rationale, and the exciting futu...

Rice is a world food staple with an incredible story.  Dr. Susan McCouch from Cornell University has been studying rice genetics for decades, and directs efforts in rice education in conjunction with the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.   This episode features interesting stories about rice origins, early selection, variation and domestication.  It is a fascinating look at...

Dr. Jennifer Kuzma received her training in biochemistry, and then later found herself working in social sciences.  She is now the Co-Director of the Genetic Engineering and Society program at North Carolina State University.  Dr. Kuzma speaks with Dr. Paul Vincelli (@Pvincell) about the social and political considerations of gene drives.  She discusses ethics, policy and regulation, as well surpr...

Gene drives are a powerful technology that may be used to control pests.  The concepts key off of exploiting genetic vulnerabilities that are rapidly inherited, and cause populations to crash over a short time. Such instances happen naturally, but now scientists are engineering the genetics of pests to induce steep population declines from gene drives. Dr. Fred Gould from North Carolina State Univ...

Over the long history of biotech crops and microorganisms Dr. Alan McHughen has been part of the conversation.  His 2000 book Pandora’s Picnic Basket  examined the promise and risk of biotech crops. Since then he has been an important voice in helping others separate fact from fiction, and has been a leader in describing and shaping public policy in this arena.  In this episode from Denver, CO we...

Dr. Angela Records joins Chris Barbey to discuss the mission of USAID.  USAID is committed to remedies in world food insecurity, with an emphasis on examining current opportunities and meshing new technology and crop biology with the most benficial impacts in global food security. Follow Dr. Recordss @AngelaRecords # COLABRA Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that b...