Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

The story of how genetic engineering saved the Hawaiian papaya industry gets lost in the discussion of agronomic crop uses of the technology. This story is important because this is not just a story of technology. It is the story of people.

Joni Kamiya tells the story of growing up on her family’s farm and the changes that came with the virus and how the genetically engineered saved production of this traditional crop for their family.

Follow Joni on Twitter at @HIFarmersDtr, and her blog at hawaiifarmersdaughter.com

The second part of the podcast visits with Cornell plant virologist Dr. Dennis Gonsalves. He studied papaya ringspot virus in the 1970’s and 1980’s, designing clever solutions to treat the disease that plagued the industry in his home state. Into the 1990’s he teamed with others working in genetic engineering to develop a solution for papaya. While the first half of his interview is about the disease and the techniques used to solve it, the second half is about the satisfaction of being a kid growing up, going to university, studying under brilliant and kind supervisors that taught him to think about science, but to also think about people.

This is a wonderful interview with a warm and charming wayward Hawaiian boy that returned home to rescue an small-farmers growing a traditional crop in the place he loves. He also touches on how activists derail technology deployment, and how public-sector scientists need to step up in efforts to create products and engage the public.

# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/

# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
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The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

Our forests are critical to ecology. They sequester carbon from human activity, and serve as great resources for renewable building materials, fuels and recreation. However, our forests are threatened like never before. Rapidly changing climates, human activity, and new pests and pathogens have caused massive change in forest populations over a very short time, with some species driven nearly to extinction. Scientists are poised to meet these problems with modern biotechnology. The problem is that the certification and regulatory bodies that govern the work have great restrictions on the kind of research that may be performed, and they all but forbid any types of genetic engineering. Ancient language installed by activist groups is difficult to overcome, and stops the best tools from being utilized in tree improvement. Dr. Steve Strauss discusses the recent National Academies Report on forests and technology, and introduces a petition for scientists and concerned citizens to sign. The hope is that regulators and certification bodies will maintain rigorous assessment, yet will allow new technologies to at least be considered and tested as scientists search for answers.

Please click here to go to sign the petition.
Read the full petition and related scientific background.
View a press release on the petition here.

# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/

# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq

The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

Several weeks ago there was a request for Talking Biotech Podcast to interview Prof Graeme Martin. Prof Martin has a long career in animal reproductive biology, and in recent times has had more focus on how to test new strategies in supporting livestock, crops and the nation’s resident biodiversity. His “Clean, Green and Ethical” approach to animal production dovetails with novel strategies to sustainably raise crops in no-till systems as part of the Future Farm 2050 Project. The discussion describes some simple, logical, low-cost techniques to increase crop production with less impact on the environment and in the context of minimal water resources. This was a wonderful interview that jogs out-of-the-traditional thinking to address key issues in farm sustainability going forward.

Please visit (and Like!) the Future Farm 2050 Facebook Page

# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/

# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq

The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

The process of animal development is a complex coordination of different genes through time. At least that's what we thought. Dr. Michael Levin from Tufts University is forcing us to rethink these processes, with impacts in medicine, cancers, correction of developmental defects and limb regeneration. ,

"Cancer" is the generic term applying to any one of many cellular proliferative disorders that threaten normal physiology. Various cancers have specific etiologies and require expertise in detection and treatment. New therapies are as innovative as they are promising, and a once dreaded prognosis now may have increased opportunity for cure, with better therapies on the horizon. But as it goes, with innovation comes resistance, and false information about cancer and its treatment flourish on social media. Today's guest is Dr. Skyler Johnson from the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute. He describes his work as a radiation oncologist and how misinformation permeates online discussion of cancer, oftentimes with tragic outcomes.