Time to Speak Up It is an honor to be elected your new president and to work in support of our common goals. It has been a productive year as president-elect, and it is a pleasure to share timely thoughts with you here. No question: This is an exciting time to be a plant scientist. … Read more
By Benjamin Schwessinger with figures by Kelsey Wood (This is a guest blog post; the opinions do not necessarily represent those of ASPB.) It can be pretty scary starting your postdoc. Suddenly, you are not a student anymore. You are on your own. You need to figure it all by yourself. This is especially true … Read more
Dear US ASPB members: A very important report, “Spurring Innovation in Food and Agriculture: A review of the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Program,” was recently published by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences. A large portion of the researchers in our community are, have been, or will … Read more
In 1962, when I was born, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere stood at 316 parts per million (ppm). Now nearly 52 years later, the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has reached 400 ppm. I can’t see it, taste it or feel it but through the power of science I know it … Read more
On December 3rd, 2013, the National Plant Science Council partnered with the American Chemical Society; the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies; and the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) to co-host a briefing on the report Unleashing a Decade of Innovation in Plant Science: A Vision for 2015-2025. The briefing was also … Read more
Last week marked the end of the first partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government since the Clinton administration. In the final days of the impasse, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) were able to broker a deal to reopen the government and raise the debt limit. The deal … Read more
