A mature cassava root. Photo taken by Neil Palmer at CIAT.
Each day, 20,000 people die from malnutrition. Many die simply because they do not have enough calories – they starve to death. Others die due to lack of vitamins in their food. As the poorest people in developing countries continue to weaken and die, scientists work diligently on solutions. Plant breeders use genetic tools to develop crops that resist aggressive plant diseases, withstand changing weather patterns, and provide the nutrients needed for human health. Continue reading “An African plant breeder’s opinion on GMOs”→
Until recently, I never put too much thought into where farmers get the seeds that they grow into the foods we eat. I assumed they saved seeds from their previous crop. I thought this would give the farmer more control over his or her operation and save money. I presumed that if a farmer chose to buy seeds, they would do so out of convenience. In reality, most farmers buy new seeds every year because of genetics! Now I know, and to help people understand the scientific rationale of purchasing new seeds every year, a group of young scientists, including myself, made a short video.
In the video, we describe what hybrid plants are, and their benefits to agriculture. We illustrate what would happen if a farmer kept and grew the seeds produced by the hybrid plants.
The video was made by UC Davis scientists Jenna Gallegos (graduate student), Don Gibson (graduate student), David Coil (project scientist), and Nir Oksenberg (postdoc). We are members of the Science Policy and Communication Group (SPCG). The SPCG is a project of the UC Davis World Food Center’s Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL) and also receives support from the UC Global Food Initiative – Communication, Literacy, and Education for Agricultural Research (CLEAR) program.
Did you like the video? What would you like to see us do next?
Written by Guest Expert
Nir Oksenberg is a professional science communicator for the Delta Stewardship Council, a California state agency. He fosters productive communication among scientists, the public, water managers, and policymakers. He has a PhD in human genetics from the University of California, San Francisco and was a postdoctoral fellow at UC Davis studying the rice response to bacteria, flooding, and drought in Pamela Ronald’s lab.
Gene editing has been getting a lot of attention lately, with an increasing number of articles about this method in the media. In this post, I’ll provide a very high level overview of the method (please note that many molecules and enzymes will be omitted for the sake of simplicity). Most of the information here is from a 2014 review entitled “Development and Applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for Genome Engineering” from the journal Cell (unfortunately behind a paywall).
As you can imagine, gene editing is somewhat of a holy grail. To erase undesired mutations in DNA would be a dream for many clinicians/doctors. But there are many different applications besides erasing what we don’t want. We could introduce variations that we do want: creating an animal model for a disease, developing crops with desired traits, etc. Continue reading “Gene Editing and GMOs”→
The International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) and Biology Fortified have produced a special video tribute to the late Dr. Norman Borlaug, a legendary CIMMYT scientist who developed high-yielding, semi-dwarf wheat that started the Green Revolution which is credited with saving over 1 billion people from starvation. The release of this tribute coincides with The Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security, on what would have been the 100th birthday of Dr. Borlaug. His message of increasing food production and the importance of using science in this effort are still important today – perhaps more than ever as the world has over 7 billion people and still growing.
To follow this event, go to www.borlaug100.org, and follow the #borlaug100 hashtag in social media. For more information about CIMMYT, visit www.cimmyt.org. Continue reading “Play it Hard – A Tribute to Dr. Norman Borlaug”→
E. coli bacteria viewed with electron microscopy. Image by Zeiss Microscopy via Flickr.
For my first post on Biofortified, I’d like to share an account of an exchange that started on Twitter. It all began when I stumbled upon a doozy of a story, about how you can get E. coli poisoning from GMOs. The author outlines that E.coli is used during the course of genetic engineering to replicate DNA since it is highly prolific. But, the author highlights, E.coli is also able to transfer DNA laterally to and from other species. Then the author says: “It is possible that a mutated form of e-coli resulting from the cloning process used in creating GMOs could get into the gut of a person or animal that eats a transgenic plant.” The author then states that DuPont has partnered with the USDA in “identifying hard-to-identify strains of E.coli“. The theory comes full circle with the statement: “with this convenient partnership, even if harmful strains of e-coli relating to GMOs are discovered, it is likely that the public will never hear it from the USDA or DuPont.”
I feel like the author of this post missed out on an opportunity to write for the X-Files. Continue reading “E.coli’s use in GMOs: can you get E.coli poisoning?”→
Arctic Apple-o-Lantern, by Joel Brooks, who won our carving contest last year.
Bobbing for apples is an old Halloween tradition. In the days before candy and trick-or-treating, the young and unmarried would use their teeth to try to catch apples floating in water or dangling by a string, ultimately to catch a superstitious glimpse of their romantic future. The tradition, which originated when the Romans brought apples to Britain after conquering it, today, can still be seen as a funny trick to make teenagers work for their treats.*
It is interesting to think about apples and candy both being prominent treats for Halloween. Because if you ask an apple breeder – candy is their direct competition. Jim Luby, whose program at the University of Minnesota has released both the Honeycrisp and the new SweeTango apples, once said “we’re competing against candy bars for stomach space.” One taste of either of these apples agrees with the fruit being up to the task. While one could question our modern sweet tooth, replacing anything like candy bars and french fries with apples is still undoubtedly a good thing.
There’s another apple that may also have this kind of impact, not by changing the way the apples taste, but by taking already popular apples and removing one of their culinary limitations: the browning process. Continue reading “Bobbing for non-browning Arctic® Apples”→
The DIY Bio Revolution
This summer, the website GMO Answers was launched by the Council for Biotechnology Information in the hopes of making “information about GMOs in food and agriculture easier to access and understand.” As seen in past and present discussions about GMOs—the Kaua’i County Bill #2491 debate comes to mind—misinformation and fear mongering hinders productive conversation. GMO Answers is a great educational resource and I am glad it was created. However, I believe people also need to develop a personal relationship with genetic engineering and interact with it if the “GMO fright” pandemic is to be fully addressed.
Imagine if biotechnology was a common, friendly, hands-on experience for anyone interested. Imagine if learning biotechnology skills and practicing them was just as common as learning survival skills for a girl scout troop. Imagine if grandmas could receive homemade GMOs from their grandchildren. Imagine if Grandma could pick up the hobby of DIY biology along with knitting. Continue reading “GMO How-To Kit: Interactive Future of Biotech Education”→
The orange groves in Florida are in trouble. A disease called Citrus Greening is destroying the fruit, the trees, and the future of the industry in the state. Scientists are turning to genetic engineering to create a solution to this problem, but will it work, and will people accept it? Amy Harmon excellently tells the story at the New York Times.
Frank wants to save the oranges
CLEWISTON, Fla. — The call Ricke Kress and every other citrus grower in Florida dreaded came while he was driving.
“It’s here” was all his grove manager needed to say to force him over to the side of the road.
The disease that sours oranges and leaves them half green, already ravaging citrus crops across the world, had reached the state’s storied groves. Mr. Kress, the president of Southern Gardens Citrus, in charge of two and a half million orange trees and a factory that squeezes juice for Tropicana and Florida’s Natural, sat in silence for several long moments.
“O.K.,” he said finally on that fall day in 2005, “let’s make a plan.”
Fill a glass full of orange juice, and give it a good read, and let us know what you think.
Today, the County Council of Kaua’i, Hawai’i is considering a bill, #2491, that would create local regulations of genetically engineered crops and pesticides, and was introduced by Kauai County Councilman Gary Hooser. According to this news article, representatives of the Center for Food Safety will be there to advocate for the bill, which may represent a political push to make it more difficult to grow genetically engineered crops. When we heard about the bill, we thought it would be important for an independent source to comment on its contents to the Council. While not stating a position for or against the bill, we put together a testimony outlining the scientific, legal, and economic issues that we saw with the bill, and submitted it to the Council.
If you have an opinion about this bill, you can send your thoughts to counciltestimony@kauai.gov with the bill number (#2491) and your position in the subject line. PDF of Bill #2491 PDF of BFI Testimony on Bill #2491
Read below for our analysis. Continue reading “Analysis of Kaua’i County Bill #2491”→
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