Illumination 2.0

What started as a joke between friends has gone a little haywire.  SciBabe Yvette is a friend and she was shocked that her personal emails were being sought by The Food Babe Vani Hari. The idea was a simple one.  Florida has loose laws, so the FB wants to exploit that to get personal info on others, using me as the weak link.  So when Yvette threatened to send me a cat picture every day I thought it was funny.  I sent one back to her.  If our personal emails are Public Records...  This ended up being discussed elsewhere online.  Yvette and I had a short conversation about it on her Facebook page and then things sort of took off.  It is good to share niceties with a friend.  Sad that they become part of a record handed to activists.  I'm at a conference and have been barely present online.  Today I opened my emails to find hundreds of pictures of cats.  That's fine, but maybe cool it.  Most of all, please don't put nastygrams to VH in here.  Cats?  No big de

First, some rules.  Please do not retaliate or harass her.  Respect her privacy for one reason-- I can tell you personally how horrible it is to have someone not respect mine. I do not want her to feel the way I do, because of her.  There's some Sunday irony. Thanks. On Friday afternoon most folks watch that clock as the minute hand clicks toward five o'clock.  Last Friday, I got the email that my university had filled another public records request , again from the Food Babe, Vani Hari, and spent the next few hours going through what they plan to send to her.  Why is she going after me?  Did I say something wrong?  Is something in my publication record not panning out and she suspects undue influence?  No.  This is a personal, malicious, expensive attack for one reason-- It is because I corrected her.   I stood up when she visited my campus and lied to the students I am responsible to teach.  The most recent request includes names of friends like Kavin, Vance,

This week's Talking Biotech Podcast... The African Swine Fever Virus is a devastating pathogen that leads to fatal disease in domesticated swine.  Scientists at the Roslin Institute led by Prof. Bruce Whitelaw have made an important advance for domestic pig health and welfare.  Wild African pigs like warthogs do not get the disease.  Researchers at Roslin have studied the genes associated with viral infection, and found what is likely a critical difference between the wild and domestic pigs.  Using new gene editing technology, the change in wild pigs has been created in domestic pigs, and they will be tested for resistance to the virus this year.  This example is one of may that is coming in animal, plant, and fungal genetic improvement through gene editing.

Ever since the brutal treatment I received last fall, and continue to receive, I have vowed to never let another researcher stand alone in fighting misplaced activism. Your public scientists are under ideological interrogation with personal attacks that seek to destroy reputations and careers. Here is the latest round in this fight of pseudo-religious-belief against the inconvenient truth offered by an independent, academic scientist. We must take control of this narrative. The truth must dominate this narrative.  Greenpeace has waged a vicious attack on a leading researcher and environmental advocate.  Dr. Ray Hilborn, a University of Washington Professor and a recognized leader in fisheries conservation for decades, has drawn fire from this activist organization because he reported data that were incompatible with their agenda.   A researcher does good research.  Activists don't like the outcome. They trash the researcher because industry funded work in his program.

Last year the National Academies of Science convened a panel of experts to discuss genetically engineered crops.  The panel listened to a huge range of testimonials and opinions.  They hosted everyone from Jeffery Smith, to Jon Entine, to a pile of scientists spanning many disciplines.  The discussion was vetted against the scientific literature, and you know what we learned?  This image has nothing to do with the article.  Anyone know a good tattoo artist? We learned that GE crops pose no special risks over conventional breeding, that they help farmers by cutting costs and marginal effects on yields, despite no yield-associated genes being installed.  There is no evidence of effects on health for humans and animals, and environmental risks are understood and should be addressed.  We learned what we knew, and what we already teach.  The report also speaks of new ideas for a regulatory framework that makes a lot of sense. Every crop/gene combination should be weighed o

“Citrus” is a term applied to a variety of popular and nutritious fruits, including oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes.  Citrus breeders are tasked with improving the varieties, which takes decades.  Still, great progress has been made in fruit improvement.   However, over the last twenty years a disease called Huanglongbing, or “HLB” (also known as “citrus greening”) has emerged in the USA and threatens the citrus industry.  Today the focus is how to grow improved citrus varieties that can survive this insidious disease.  Dr. Fred Gmitter is a seasoned citrus breeder that has  produced improved fruit varieties, but also is working to identify new varieties to combat HLB. Listen to this week's podcast here.  

Several times a year I find myself exiting the Florida’s Turnpike at Yeehaw Junction and heading south.  When I get to the small town of Okeechobee I take a left and head down Route 98 through Florida’s extensive agricultural backyard.  Flanked by Lake Okeechobee on the west and the affluent cities of the Atlantic coast off to the east, the small towns nestled in this sliver of land support vibrant production of sweet corn, cattle, lettuce, and sugarcane. Cane-derived sugar ends up in many cupboards as table sugar, and also is found in many consumer products.   As reported on NPR , candy companies are caving in to consumer demands that the sugar they consume does not come from a GMO plant.  To the scientist this is curious, because table sugar coming from sugarcane (which never was a GMO) is chemically identical to table sugar from GMO sources like sugar beets—it is sucrose.   Sugarcane and sugar beets are partners in pleasure, together satisfying America’s sweet tooth.