Winning entries of the August 2015 “Teaching Tools Proposal” competition

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We had many excellent proposals submitted for the second round of the the “Teaching Tools in Plant Biology” competition, from which we selected two for further development. The competition has one additional submission deadline December 31 2015, and full details can be found at https://blog.aspb.org/2015/03/02/share-your-enthusiasm-teaching-tools-submission-competition/. Here are the two winning proposals and their authors from … Read more

Optimizing Crops for Biocontrol of Pests and Disease

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This week we feature an article published by Stenberg et al in Trends in Plant Science that describes the potential benefits of optimizing crops for biocontrol of pests. It is difficult to estimate the true costs of herbivore damage to crop plants, but it is clearly in the billions of dollars; much more when pesticide … Read more

Did I like The Martian? Yes!

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I went with my sons (22 & 17) and they loved it too, so that’s three thumbs up (we each gave it five out of five stars). The filmmakers have taken a great book and modified it slightly to make a fast-paced, visually stunning, engaging, and even funny movie. I particularly appreciated the fact that … Read more

Process Labeling of Food & Role of Scientific Engagement in Public Dialog on Food Science Seminar – Monday October 5th

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ASPB is a co-sponsor of this seminar: Process food labeling, the role of social media in communicating about genetic engineering and implications for agricultural producers and consumers will be addressed at National C-FAR’s research seminar on Monday, October 5, offered at 10 a.m. in 328A Russell Senate Office Building and again at noon in 1300 … Read more

Plants in the News, 2 October: Cannabis, entry point to plant science or plant-that-must-not-be-named?

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  This week, Nature published an excellent Outlook on cannabis science and policy. How do you feel about cannabis as a topic of discussion in the classroom? I’ve tended to shy away from it – in my experience the benefit of increased interest can be outweighed by the distraction of giggles and jokes. However, this … Read more