Previously we shared a list of videos spanning the plant biology part of an introductory biology course at the University of California at Berkeley. A reader shared a link to another plant biology course taught at Berkeley, the Plant Molecular Genetics (PMB160) course, taught in 2012 by Jenn Fletcher and Bob Fischer. Here is a … Read more
While updating the materials for upcoming workshops (Nottingham and Potsdam next month) on careers, communication and writing, I asked Matt Candeias, author of the popular blog In Defense of Plants how he got started and if he has any advice to those considering blogging. Here are his replies. I started In Defense of Plants as … Read more
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 December’s issue of The Plant Cell. Jeffrey P. Simpson, featured first author of A novel pathway for triacylglycerol biosynthesis is responsible for the accumulation of massive quantities of glycerolipids in the surface … Read more
The Travel Grant Program aims to increase attendance of early career scientists at the annual meeting by providing travel funds for those in financial need. Increasing diversity among the annual meeting attendees is another primary goal. Undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and professionals beginning their careers in plant science are strongly encouraged to apply. … Read more
The goal of the Women’s Young Investigator Travel Award is to increase attendance at the Plant Biology annual meeting of young female investigators who are within the first five years of their appointment in academic faculty-level positions, government research positions, or industry research scientist positions, as well as experienced postdocs. Awardees must hold positions at an academic, … Read more
On January 6, 2016, The New York Public Library enhanced access to all public domain items in its Digital Collections so that everyone has the freedom to enjoy and reuse these materials in almost limitless ways (read more about the collection and the ways you can use it here). The images are browsable, searchable, and … Read more
Note: Sadly, these videos have been removed from public view. See more about this decision here. Have you been looking for high-quality, university-level introductory plant biology videos? There are not many available on topics other than photosynthesis and pollination. The University of California at Berkeley publishes videos from many of its course lectures on YouTube. … Read more
The Genetically Engineered Crops: Past Experience and Future Prospects Committee at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will release its report in 2016! The committee held 18 information-gathering sessions on a variety of topics, including genetically engineered quality traits. Check out the brief presentation below to learn the basics of quality traits and … Read more
When we look at a metabolic pathway, we usually assume that the metabolites behave as diagrammed; that substance A will remain substance A unless acted upon by enzymes X or Y. It is becoming clear that this assumption is false, and that metabolite damage occurs alongside normal metabolic processes. Metabolite damage is described by Hanson … Read more
It’s time to register for the Plant Biology meeting, July 9 – 13 in Austin, Texas. Hurry, because the deadline to have your abstract considered for a minisymposium or lightning talk is January 25! The Major Symposia are always some of the highlights of the Plant Biology meetings. They bring together some of the most … Read more
In 2015, ASPB established a partnership with Wiki Edu. This Foundation’s resources and dynamic staff help us offer the educators and students in our community an engaging, valid tool that supports critical thinking and writing about plant biology. The element of publishing ‘for real’ is a welcome motivator for all. Yet some folks have valid … Read more
Attending Plant Biology 2016? The conference starts in six months, but if you want your work to be considered for a minisymposium or lightning talk, you need to submit your abstract now (or by 25 Jan, EST). You can read more about the conference, including major symposia topics and speakers, and the countless networking opportunities … Read more
This week’s Research in Focus is reprinted from an In Brief published by Science Editor Jennifer Mach in The Plant Cell, which summarizes an article newly published by Simpson and Ohlrogge. This study uses biochemical, morphological, and transcriptomic methods to examine an unusual surface wax produced by bayberry fruits, and reveals a cutin-related biosynthetic pathway … Read more
Guest post by Dr. Mike Jackson (bio below). Peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas – and other leguminous species. All are pulses or grain legumes, important crops around the world, adding essential nutritional value to human diets. And, while they’re about it, improving soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. During 2016, pulses will be in the spotlight. … Read more
On the front page of the November/December issue of the ASPB News, alongside my first President’s Letter, was an exhortation to “On your mark, get set…nominate!” ASPB currently has about 4,000 members and is hoping to greatly increase this number thorough its new Plantae portal. It is really important that members feel they are part … Read more
BREAKTHROUGHS AND EVENTS CRISPR Science magazine named CRISPR the 2015 breakthrough of the year. Although the application of CRISPR-mediated genome editing in plants dates back a few years, the rate of its use has been growing rapidly. Searching PubMed for CRISPR shows an exponential growth in citation numbers. There’s no doubt that this technology provides … Read more
The Martian I don’t know if the book/film The Martian will have a lasting impact on plant science, but it certainly added some thrills to the plant scientists’ year. The story features a space-stranded botanist (although some argue he should have been described as a horticulturalist) who had to grow plants to feed himself until … Read more
Prepared by Lewis-Burke Associates LLC December 17, 2015 This week, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees concluded negotiations on an omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 2029) to fund federal government agencies for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2016. The final bill provides significant increases to federal investments in research, education, and healthcare programs important to … Read more
I am your ASPB representative on CAST. CAST is the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and is a non-profit organization composed of scientific societies, many individuals, students, companies, nonprofits, and associate scientific and industry society members. The primary work of CAST is to organize scientists to write papers on different important topics. CAST assembles, … Read more
COP21 was the 21st session of the Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Its goal, which it achieved, was to get governments to agree to cut carbon emissions in order to limit global temperature rise. A resolution was passed, in which the 195 countries present agreed on the … Read more
