Mary Williams

I studied Biochemistry at Berkeley (BA), Plant Molecular Biology at Rockefeller (PhD), did a postdoc at Berkeley with Ian Sussex, and then spent 14 years as a Biology professor at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. In 2009 I started working at the American Society of Plant Biologists as Features Editor of the journal Plant Cell and the developer of Teaching Tools in Plant Biology. My passion lies in making it a little bit easier for students of all ages to understand plants and plant science research. I live in Glasgow, Scotland, with my family and our much adored dog.

Networking Socially at Plant Biology 2016

by

Without a doubt, one of the top reasons we attend conferences is to strengthen and expand our professional networks. The many opportunities that a conference provides to meet and interact with colleagues and friends old and new make the jet lag and hassle of travel worthwhile, mostly. The Plant Biology meeting is a big meeting … Read more

Traditional medicine: Velvet bean seed’s prophylactic protection from snake venom toxins

by

Snakebites kill more than 100,000 people annually, making snakes the second deadliest animals (after mosquitos), with many fold that many people suffering permanent disabilities from snake venom. Most of the victims are in Africa, Asia and Latin America, often in countries with poor access to medical resources. Snake venoms are complex and contain various toxins … Read more

National Academies issue report, “Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects”

by

The National Academies (the collected group of the National Academies of Medicine, Engineering and Sciences) are an independent body that provides advice to the government, but does not hold law-making powers.  The National Academies recently released a report, “Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects”. The report was commissioned to examine the evidence behind some of … Read more

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, May 2016

by

Recently, we’ve been profiling first authors of Plant Cell papers that are selected for In Brief summaries. Here are the first-author profiles from the May issue of The Plant Cell. Xunliang Liu, featured first author of The role of LORELEI in pollen tube reception at the interface of the synergid cell and pollen tube requires … Read more

In Brief: Xanthine Dehydrogenase in ROS Metabolism

by

This week’s Research in Focus is reprinted from an In Brief published by Science Editor Nancy Hofmann in The Plant Cell, which summarizes an article newly published by  Ma et al. This study explores the dual and opposing roles of the enzyme xanthine dehydrogenase in modulation of ROS metabolism during defense responses in Arabidopsis.  Xanthine … Read more