Illumination 2.0

If you like beer and bread, you better like barley.  It's history is dotted with fascinating stories.  It has even been used as a pregnancy test.   This week's guest is Dr. Sheila Adimargono (@seminisa) discusses barley, from  early domestication to modern genomics.   Click here for this week's podcast. 

I'm speaking at IAPB 2018 in Dublin Ireland and they asked me for a synopsis of my presentation for the media.  I liked it so much that I posted it here!  Moving innovation to application means that scientists need to take advantage of every opportunity to engage the public, and then do it correctly.  Consumers crave new technology.    They will queue up for a week to buy the newest mobile phone, even though the last version works well.   Transportation, communication, medicine—just several areas that are greatly improved because technology has enhanced the human experience. But when we talk about food, the same consumers are skeptical or even afraid of technology.   There is a conspicuous drive to return to The Good Ol’ Days , a quest for the simple, and rejection of any technology that could alter plant genetics.   This, despite the fact that human efforts in crop improvement are the basis for civilization and ultimately the technology that gives them new mobi

It sounds like crazy conspiracy, but it actually is true. Upon analysis of messaging in social media and news outlets a team of researchers from Iowa State has identified that a massive amount of information critical of biotechnology comes from sources in the Russian Federation.  This week's podcast. 

I was very fortunate to be able to speak at the Manna Center for Global Food Security conference in Tel Aviv, July 4, 2018.   The Manna Center at Tel Aviv University (TAU) understands that the concept of global food security requires a comprehensive analysis of this complicated problem, and integrates input from social scientists, biologists, economists and other experts.   It was clear that solutions would require careful nuance and sophisticated approaches. The conference was well attended, mostly by students and faculty from TAU, but also with a significant attendance of international delegates. I absolutely loved the conference and associated events, and that is why this blog post is hard to write. I must be critical of one facet of the otherwise stellar event. This blog post is necessary because the room was full of students.   While most of the talks were outstanding, students were actively deceived by a professor that blatantly presented a skewed information and presen

This blog raises an important question about who you choose to trust, and how easily they sway your opinions. When you read scientific information on the web, do you believe only what confirms your biases, or do you think critically about the information?  Are people manipulating you? First, I love the idea of Golden Rice.  In many parts of the world food staples contain little Vitamin A, so those consuming rice, potato, wheat, maize, cassava, and banana are not receiving adequate nutrition.   It is essential for vision and optimal health.  The result is a scourge of Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) causes blindness and disease throughout the Developing World.  Golden Rice has been genetically engineered with two genes to produce beta-carotene, the nutrient in carrots and leafy green vegetables that is converted to vitamin A in the body.  Golden Rice is not without its issues. The levels were low in the first generation products and not necessarily in culturally-acceptable forms of ric

This is an extremely important story. Dr. Rosalind Franklin was a brilliant x-ray crystalographer that was the first to figure out the structure of DNA. Her data were shared with Watson and Crick without her knowledge. They won a Nobel Prize, she is barely a footnote. Can we please fix that? Listen to this week's podcast and share her story. Subscribe on iTunes.

Were you ever the last to arrive at a friendly get together just to find the quacamole gone and all of those good little toast bits picked out of the Chex Mix?  That must be how Jeffery Smith and the Broom Closet for Responsible Technology must feel now.  All of the cranks and charlatans had the opportunity to parse my private emails at taxpayer expense, and dammit, he was busy doing something else. Maybe getting the taste of his foot out of his mouth after Food Evolution .   Long after tens of thousands of emails have gone out to Food Babes, activists, and dozens of others (at probably a half-million dollars in taxpayer expense-- and zero evidence of impropriety or ethical lapses), I FINALLY got the request from Jeffrey Smith's goons over at the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT).   Ironically, this institute for responsible technology has irresponsibly pushed false information about technology for ages, profiting all the way. When you review Smith's state