pronald
Posts by this author
June 10, 2012
Why labeling of GMOs is actually bad for people and the environment « The Berkeley Blog.
This is a very balanced and knowledge-based post by the widely respected agricultural economist, David Zilberman. Thankfully, he brings some science to this hot topic. It is an important read for everyone in…
June 8, 2012
It seems that plant biologists just cant take the misinformation about genetics any longer. First we had the moving and informative video from the Rothamsted Research Group and now an elqouent article from two professors from Swedish agricultural university. You can read their story here: ”…
June 8, 2012
Conservation Remix was an event with a mission—to foster creative thinking about the big environmental issues of our time. The organizers aimed to broaden the definition of what it means to be “green”. For one thought-provoking day, innovators in diverse fields connected science, engineering,…
June 5, 2012
Thai Youth Seek a Fortune Away From the Farm - NYTimes.com.
June 1, 2012
My most troublesome girl- always getting out of the coop and digging in my garden- shows up this morning with 16 baby chicks! Not such a goof-off afterall. Go girl.
May 31, 2012
A few years ago, Slate journalist Daniel Engber, wrote a provocative, and I think highly accurate, article describing the corporate strategy of "manufactured uncertainty" that was used for years to question the scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes cancer. Similarly, he argues, some …
May 31, 2012
MT The debate on genetically engineered crops (the so-called "GMOs") has begun to grow up. Anti-GMO protests are fizzling.
Why?
Some consumers are embracing an emerging "geek consciousness" – a science-friendly approach that rejects unfounded attacks on basic and applied science and that…
May 30, 2012
Is the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) turning down deserving research proposals because of potential biases in the grant-review process? The answer may be yes, if preliminary findings of an experiment being conducted by NSF officials holds up.
A recent study described in science magazine, …
May 30, 2012
Here is a link to a an interesting new book by Julia Gordon. She just graduated from Washington University in St Louis as a graphic design major, and for her senior thesis she designed an informational book, using the chapter "Green Genes" from Stewart Brand's book "Whole Earth Discipline". For…
May 30, 2012
Listen to an informative interview on NPR with University of California, Berkeley geneticist Peggy Lemaux regarding the California initiative on Food labeling.
"If youre looking to know whats in your food, well theres a lot of stuff in your food, and theres already a lot of stuff on the label,"…
May 29, 2012
Just read some of the comments on Amy Harmon's #GMO labeling story from Friday's NYT. Guess people care about this topic.
Here are some excerpts:
"Unless you are foraging, eating wild-berries, game, etc... then you are consuming GMO food. There is no logical definition of #GMO food"
"Conservatives…
April 26, 2012
A paper in this week's issue of Nature and a commentary on Revkin's DotEarth blog reinforces the argument that a hybrid path in agriculture -- incorporating both conventional and organic production practices -- gives the best chance of feeding some 9 billion people by midcentury in an ecologically…
April 22, 2012
I was so pleased to have a chance to take part in the Women in Science Symposium at Cornell April 2-3.
Thanks to the Cornell faculty and students that put together this wonderful event. For those that could not attend, read the graduate student interviews with the speakers here.
Dr. Mary Power is…
April 1, 2012
I am so looking forward to the talks tomorrow.
Linda Buck! Sharon Long! Mary-Claire King! and more...
Frontiers in the Life Sciences: a Symposium Celebrating Excellence
March 26, 2012
Bacteria can talk. Yes. Talk. These unicellular, primitive creatures have their own language. They secret chemical words to their environment, where their neighbors can listen, comprehend and react to those messages.
This bacterial communication is called quorum sensing (QS).
Although the first…
March 10, 2012
The New Earth Archive is a resource network of powerful, inspiring books on climate change, sustainability, social justice, and human nature.The students ask you to vote for up to 15 of your favorite books.
So pleased, Tomorrow's Table made the list!
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/808430/…
January 31, 2012
Applause for Plant Physiologist Helen Stafford who left the Reed College Biology Department $1M. As a woman scientist in the 1950s, Stafford was ineligible for many jobs. Reed College, not deterred by her sex, offered her a position. She went on to establish a successful career and inspired many…
January 31, 2012
Applause for Plant Physiologist Helen Stafford who bequeathed an astonishing $8M to Reed College in her will. As a woman scientist in the 1950s, Stafford was ineligible for many jobs. Reed College, not deterred by her sex, offered her a position. She went on to establish a successful career and…
January 27, 2012
"Nothing more fun than making discoveries in nature and then seeing them used for the public good "
Listen to the NPR interview with enthusiastic Professor Emeritus Murray Gardener.
He describes recent UCDavis symposium with 2011 Nobel Laureates Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffman
January 22, 2012
The University of California, Davis, will host two Nobel laureates for a symposium this month about the shared characteristics of plants, flies and people in terms of how they fight infections.
"Evolution of Common Molecular Pathways Underlying Innate Immunity" will feature the 2011 Nobel Laureates…
January 16, 2012
Another vigilante for truth. Lithodid man exposes Jeffrey Smith #antiGMO claims to light of day in this entertaining video. Well done Lithodid.
January 16, 2012
Another vigilante for truth. Lithodid man exposes Jeffrey Smith #antiGMO fraud in this entertaining video. Well done Lithodid.
January 9, 2012
Jonathan Eisen, scientist and blogger extraordinaire has established a science writing series called "Story behind the paper". The idea is for authors who have recently published Open Access papers to tell the story behind the paper: what sorts of experiences and experiments led up to the new…
January 6, 2012
UC Davis unified in condemning use of pepper spray on students. Support for Chancellor Katehi grows.
January 3, 2012
This excellent New York Times article describes Eric Lander's journey in science to his position today as not only one of the great genome researchers but a terrific teacher and human being.
December 31, 2011
In Memoriam,
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the…
November 3, 2011
Finally our paper is in press!
in the coming issue of PNAS, we describe a genome-scale model for predicting the functions of genes and gene networks in rice, an important staple food. Called RiceNet, this systems-level model of rice gene interactions allows us to effectively predict gene function…
November 1, 2011
Consumers are asking us many questions about biotech seeds and traits. They want to know why some farmers may choose to use them and what the long-term implications are not only for our health but also for the farming/ranching industry.
All of the challenges and issues facing the agriculture…
October 19, 2011
The day your son asks for a genetically engineered glow-in-the dark zebra fish and your wife desires a mauve rose may be the day that public acceptance of plant and animal genetic engineering has finally arrived.
Last week the U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded that a new variety of rose,…
October 2, 2011
Two great scientists, Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffman, who have changed the way we view the immune response of plants and animals, have been awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Tragically, Dr. Ralph M. Steinman of Rockefeller University, who discovered a new class of cell, known as…