Illumination 2.0

Listen to the Podcast Here Australia has welcomed the use of genetically engineered crops, and farmers have found particular benefit from broad acre canola and cotton cultivation. However, the benefits were not realized by some states because of local moratoriums imposed by state governments. Farmers in South Australia grow wheat, canola and pulses, along with wine grapes, olives and other horticultural crops.  They would like the option to grow GE canola, as it may offer some benefits. More importantly, new technologies in gene editing may permit rapid response to new threats as well as tackle current issues in drought, frost, and pathogens. Fortunately, a science-minded change in government has led to discussion of removing the ban.  I speak with four agricultural leaders from the Grain Producers SA, a non-profit organization coordinating grower advocacy and communications. With Tanya Morgan, Adrian McCabe ( @AdrianMcCabe6 ), Wade Dabinette and Dion Woolford ( @rudige...

It always bothers me when prominent community figures or celebs push rhetoric designed to deny farmers access to technology.  I'm visiting Adelaide, Australia and was amazed to see a local paper run a story about a local wine maker that "slams" a likely change in farmer seed choice.  GE crops are perfectly allowable in Australia, but the state governments of South Australia and Tasmania have imposed restrictions that block their use.  Recent changes in policy suggest that these rules are likely to change.  But news reports  show that at least one local business leader is ramping up the rhetoric to skew public perception.  That's fine on the surface. We should have honest, science-based discussions.  The problem is that he gets the science wrong, the debate is asymmetrical, and it scares the public and disparages farmers that simply want the right to choose the technology whey wish to use.  This article ran in South Australia:  (click...

This is a sad epitaph, parting words to an old friend that is now gone, leaving in a puff of bitter betrayal.  When I was a kid it was common for my mom to buy me a magazine if I was sick and home from school.  I didn't want MAD Magazine or comic books.  I preferred  Scientific American .  The once stalwart publication held a unique spot at the science-public interface, bringing us interesting and diverse stories of scientific interest, long before the internet made such content instantly accessible.  It was our trusted pipeline to the new edges of scientific discovery, from the mantle of the earth to the reaches of space, and every critter in between. But like so much of our trusted traditional science media, Scientific American has traded its credibility for the glitz of post-truth non-scientific beliefs and the profits of clickbait.   The problem is that when a trusted source publishes false information (or worse, when it hijacke...

Listen to the podcast here.  Genetically engineered microbes commonly manufacture our vitamins and amino acid supplements, but can they be supplements themselves?  Zbiotics has developed genetically engineered bacteria that may help to metabolize the residues of alcohol consumption, altering the accumulation of the compounds that lead to next-day malaise. These microbes are consumed as a pro-biotic, fortifying the digestive system with a means to break down deleterious metabolites.  Today’s podcast covers the technology with Dr. Zack Abbott from Zbiotics, including a discussion of how a “proudly GMO” product resonates with consumers. Zbiotics LInks: https://www.instagram.com/zbiotics/ https://www.facebook.com/ZBiotics/ https://twitter.com/ZBioticsCompany

Last week I saw an awesome Twitter post.  Dr. Elisabeth Bik posted a figure from a recently published paper in a cancer journal.  The caption simply read, "What's wrong with this image?" I looked at it carefully for two solid minutes.  It was images of baby mice, "pinkies" in the reptile feeding trade, all lined up on their sides with military precision. Some had tumors, some didn't and the figure looked legit.  Until I saw her annotated photo.  She circled examples of how the same little mice babies were cut-n-pasted multiple times, appearing over and over again in different rows.  It was manufactured data. Dr. Bik does a remarkable service to science.  A trained molecular biologist with a substantial CV, she now voluntarily spends her eagle eye scouring the literature for things that don't look quite right.  Like duplicate mice in a manufactured figure.  I had the pleasure of interviewing her for the Talking Biotech Podcast, and she'l...

I discontinued use of Twitter on June 19, 2019.  The account was deactivated, which means I had 30 days to re-activate it before it is permanently deleted.  The clock was winding down, and I had to do a cost/benefit analysis of Twitter.  Certainly p ermanent deletion would mean no more harassment through the medium (that I'd know about). There are about six people and a few 'bots that no longer would harass me.  The problem is that I'd break a connection with 22,000 people that volunteered to receive content.   Today, two days out from permanent deactivation I have a nice article at AgDaily , and a sweet one coming out in The Conversation.  I'd love to share those widely.  The podcast is reaching 1 million downloads with 3,500 per week and almost 200 episodes.  New episodes are not downloaded as much without the Twitter push.  Best of Both Worlds? So it is a necessary evil and I'll have to live with it, but I have to play ...

My entire life I always questioned people that would take their own life or hurt others in rage.  It did not compute for me.  It seems no problem is that big, and there are so many ways to find solutions between the law, social services, and other mechanisms.  But after enduring endless daily harassment from Michael Balter and GM Watch, I deeply empathize with these feelings. It is a dark part of human psychology, and a program in the brain that is triggered from feeling helpless.  It is a reptile brain taking over; backed into a corner with no other choice.  It is the extremes of fight and the extremes of flight, life and death, and I'm feeling that.  I have so much to be grateful for.  I have a wonderful wife, and we hope to have a child on the way soon.  We both were robbed of that opportunity in previous relationships by combinations of tragedies and apathies, and now we are fixing that.  I have a great job, wonderful students, re...