Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

The story of how genetic engineering saved the Hawaiian papaya industry gets lost in the discussion of agronomic crop uses of the technology.  This story is important because this is not just a story of technology. It is the story of people. Joni Kamiya tells the story of growing up on her family’s farm and the changes that came with the virus and how the genetically engineered saved production of...

In today’s Talking Biotech Podcast the first guest is Keira Havens.   She’s the CEO of Revolution Bio, a company turned non-profit that is interested in using the power of plants to introduce the public to the power of genetic engineering.  They have found good public support for genetically engineered flowers, and hope that this technology is a gateway to a broader understanding of the technology...

Improving plants with biotechnology is not just genetic engineering, it is using tools of molecular biology and genomics to guide traditional breeding strategies.  In this episode Dr. Harry Klee from the University of Florida discusses how the Plant Innovation Center utilizes such strategies to breed tomatoes with superior flavors.  In part two, University of Manitoba student Chelsea Boonstra disc...

Several weeks ago there was a request for Talking Biotech Podcast to interview Prof Graeme Martin .  Prof Martin has a long career in animal reproductive biology, and in recent times has had more focus on how to test new strategies in supporting livestock, crops and the nation’s resident biodiversity.  His “Clean, Green and Ethical” approach to animal production dovetails with novel strategies to...

Biotech innovation in cassava is necessary to speeding genetic improvement of this food staple. Together with breeding efforts, the new resources derived define new crops that primarily serve the developing world.  Yet the Western world knows so little about cassava. This episode of Talking Biotech is part two of the series on cassava genetic improvement.  Dr. Barbara Schaal speaks about its genet...

Cassava (Manihot esculentum) is a critical world food crop, the third most consumed staple outside of rice and maize.  It is even more critical because it is a vigorous plant that grows well in challenging areas.  The crop feeds close to 800,000 people worldwide, mostly in Africa, South America and Asia. Production is challenged by a number of biotic and abiotic factors.  Viral diseases move quick...

This eThis episode of Talking Biotech invites you to be the investigator and data collector.  The internet is littered with images that claim animals will not eat GMO corn, which is curious because 80% of it goes to animal feed.  We have arranged to test that hypothesis through Biology Fortified .  If you visit this URL you can make a donation and receive a kit that you can use to generate data fo...

Today chemophobia rules supreme.  From fast-food establishments to farming critics, everyone seems to be an expert, except the experts! Talking Biotech #19 features The SciBabe, Yvette d’Entremont (@TheSciBabe).  She has experience in the chemical industries and a background in applied toxicology.  This is a light-hearted discussion of “toxic”, what it means, and what we really need to worry about...

The topic of “pesticides” is the new frontier in the opposition to agricultural biotechnology.  Opponents of the technology blame new genetic improvement methods for perceived increases in chemical controls for plant, animal and fungal pests.  However, scientists argue that our pest control strategies are increasingly focused, less toxic, and work better.  This episode features an interview with D...

This week we’re joined by Richard Levine, communications director for the Entomological Society of America.  We discuss bees, butterflies, insecticides and some of the current issues in crop protection from an entomological perspective.  We then turn to the idea of promoting artwork using a science podcast, and the important effort to get Dr. Barbara McClintock on the ten dollar bill, replacing so...

This week features two discussions with fellows serving in the Global Leadership Program of the Cornell Alliance for Science.  The first part is a discussion with Nassib Mugwanya, Outreach Leader for the Ugandan Biosciences Information Center.  He discusses the state of biotech solutions in Uganda, both in terms of critical needs and the current pipeline.  The second part is a discussion about the...

This episode is an introduction to tomatoes, popular fruits that provide great variation to the eye and palate, as well as the foundation of many recipes. Surprisingly, tomatoes are fragile fruits and the plants can be difficult to grow.  They are under constant attack from pests and pathogens, and new varieties must deliver profits for growers and beautiful, flavorful fruits for industry and the...

This week’s Talking Biotech features discussion of Huanglongbing (HLB) also known as Citrus Greening Disease.  The disease is devastating Florida citrus, and is causing a massive hardship on the State’s iconic industries.  We are joined by Ricke Kress from Southern Gardens Citrus, one of the largest producers and processors.  Southern Gardens has experienced massive losses from citrus greening, lo...

This week I had to address the elephant in the room. What’s up with the recent flack about Monsanto funding a science communication outreach program? What is happening with FOIA?  What is the future of the Talking Biotech science communication program?   Yes, I actually went on a vacation-vacation, first time since April 2002. And it was in a place with no cell signal or internet access. # COLABRA...

This week’s podcast discusses Kevin Folta’s public records situation for 60 seconds. That is followed by a talk with Dr. Andrew McKemey from Oxitec in Oxford, England.  Oxitec has a technology that allows rearing of male mosquitoes that transmit a gene that disrupts offspring from developing.  This technology has been show to work field situations, providing potential solutions to mosquito-borne d...

This week’s podcast is an important analysis of two published reports. First, the results from the famous Rothamstead wheat trial show that their transgene does not confer resistance to aphids, inconsistent with their laboratory findings.  While this outcome was considered to be a successful, reliable answer, it was billed as an abject failure on anti-biotech activist websites. Today we revisit th...

This Talking Biotech Podcast features Dr. William Powell from SUNY, where he is co-Director of the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project.  The American Chestnut was a dominant forest tree in Appalachia until the late 1800’s when it was destroyed by disease. Dr. Powell’s project has used a transgenic approach to confer resistance to the disease, with the goal of repatriating the forest...

Ag professionals know their businesses and on-farm practices better than anyone. However, they don’t tend to share their story in public space, allowing others (including unscrupulous hucksters and activists) to warp their reality. How do we get the real experts excited about communicating about new technology, and how it is used on the farm?  New innovations in crops and animals stand to improve...

Salmon is an outstanding food for protein, and undeniably great table fare. The AquaBounty company has produced the AquaAdvantage salmon, a fish that grows to production size in less time. This means the same amount of healthy fish using less food, labor, water, and other limited resources. Dave Conley speaks about the salmon, how the trait works, it’s deregulation, and addresses questions about s...

This episode of Talking Biotech features stories of genetically engineered chickens that do not spread the avian influenza virus. This year over 45 million birds have died or have been euthanized because of illness from the avian flu. Prof. Helen Sang of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland is part of the research team that engineered chickens using a clever strategy– they can catch the vir...