What We’re Reading: February 10

Review: Plant diversity change across scales during the Anthropocene ($) We’re living in the Anthropocene, a term that reflects the profound impact of human activities on Earth’s geology and ecology. A hallmark of the Anthropocene is a decrease in biodiversity due to an increase in the rate of extinctions. Vellend et al. examined how plant … Read more

How can genomics help neglected crops fight disease?

Guest post by Kelsey Wood (@klsywd) a PhD student researching the genetics and genomics of plant-pathogen interactions at the University of California, Davis. I recently attended a Plant Pathology symposium on “Genomics Strategies for Developing Sustainable Disease Resistance for Neglected Crops in the Developing World“. The symposium was held at the University of California, Berkeley and … Read more

NSF INCLUDES Prospective Reviewer Survey for Design and Development Launch Pilot Preliminary Proposals

This is a survey to determine your interest in and availability for serving on a panel for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to review proposals for the new agency-wide initiative, NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science). NSF INCLUDES is a comprehensive national initiative designed … Read more

What We’re Reading: January 27th

Review: The sexual advantage of looking, smelling and tasting good, the metabolic network that produces signals for pollinators ($) The interaction between angiosperms and their pollinators provides an excellent system to study co-evolution, and underpins the evolution of the biosynthesis of numerous interesting and useful specialized metabolites, from pigments to fragrances. Borghi et al. review … Read more

Call for Nominations: FFAR New Innovator Award

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) has released a call for nominations for the 2017 New Innovator in Food and Agriculture Research Award.  This is the second competition for this award, which aims to “support the next generation of food and agriculture scientists”.  While last year the award was limited to one nominee … Read more