Guest post from Sonja Dunbar, PhD student at the University of Cambridge @PlantSciSonja In Easter term I cover the topic of conservation with my students, wandering into the area where plant science very clearly intersects with political and social factors. We are also close to exams at this point, one of which has a synoptic … Read more
So you probably know you can stop by the Membership desk (next to registration) to learn about ASPB membership, to join or renew your ASPB membership, and to say hi to some familiar faces, those ASPB staff you’ve been emailing with all year. But did you know you could also do these fun things? Purchase Plantae and Plant … Read more
Dr. Todd Anderson, US Department of Energy will give the plenary talk at this year’s 5th Pan-American Congress On Plants and BioEnergy which is taking place August 4-7, 2016 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dr. Anderson recently shared some of his insight into the bioenergy industry and what to expect from his session. What’s the … 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 the June issue of The Plant Cell. Yuki Kondo, featured first author of Vascular Cell Induction Culture System Using Arabidopsis Leaves (VISUAL) Reveals the Sequential Differentiation of Sieve Element-like Cells Current Position: … Read more
The USDA ARS Corvallis, Oregon stations participated in International Fascination of Plants Day (FoPD) on June 18, 2016. This activity was launched under the umbrella of the European Plant Science Organisation (ESPO) in cooperation with the American Society of Plant Biologists. The goal of FoPD is to show all the different ways plants play roles … Read more
You are probably familiar with the process of making a transgenic plant; gene identification, gene introduction into a plant cell via bombardment or Agrobacterium tumefaciens, selection of transformed tissue, and plant regeneration (as shown in the diagram from Teaching Tools in Plant Biology). Many of you have probably carried out the process, at least in … Read more
NSF is offering a draft of a new Proposal and Award Policies Procedure Guide. The guide is expected to ‘go live’ in January 2017. An active leader in the National Alliance for Broader Impacts recently noted that this proposed guide has some subtle yet rather interesting changes in the merit review wording. The biggest question … Read more
So you’re hearing good things about the new plant science networking platform Plantae and want to get involved? You’ve come to the right blog post! Read on to learn how to set up your profile, find friends and get involved with the community. Who are you? Plantae is a great place to network with researchers … Read more
This Research in Focus is written by science writer Peter Minorsky (ASPB and Mercy College) who writes the monthly On the Inside column for Plant Physiology. This summary describes a paper by Lacey and Binder, to be published in the July 2016 issue. The authors examine a putative ethylene receptor in cyanobacteria; this protein had … Read more
Did you know that ASPB is the publisher of two top plant science research journals? Publishing has always been a core part of ASPB’s mission. At Plant Biology 2016 (July 9 – 13 in Austin, Texas), you can meet, learn from and share you thoughts with the Editors-in-Chief of the ASPB journals. Publishing in and … Read more
Winning Resources for Plant Biology Learning Objectives, Outreach Materials & Education The BLOOME is awarded to Society members with education and outreach projects that advance youth, student, or general public knowledge and appreciation of plant biology. On behalf of ASPB, the Education Committee is pleased to announce these four projects selected for the 2016 Plant … Read more
Did you know that you can now access the Teaching Tools in Plant Biology articles on Plantae? Teaching Tools in Plant Biology is a popular feature of The Plant Cell, but it’s also a little different than the usual Plant Cell content. Because of the way it is hosted on the journal website, it sometimes … Read more
I could already sense the festivity in the air when I arrived at the Maker’s Faire in downtown Shreveport early on a Saturday morning. I scanned the rows of vendors and food trucks as I looked for my target – the booth for Sciport: Louisiana’s Discovery Center. With help from the center and my mentor, … Read more
Arabidopsis thaliana has been an excellent model for the dissection of molecular plant-microbe interactions, including responses to pathogens. Studies in Arabidopsis have identified core components of signaling pathways involved in sensing and responding to pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which including chitin (a structural carbohydrate of fungal cell walls) and flagellin (an abundant bacterial protein). … Read more
Many thanks to those members who took the time to vote this spring; and hearty congratulations to our newly elected Council members, Harry Klee (incoming president elect) and Andrew Bent (incoming secretary elect)! Harry and Andrew will begin their next cycles of service to ASPB on October 1, 2016. Thanks, too, to Erich Grotewold and … Read more
Have you got a passion for plant science that you are eager to share? Do you have a favorite paper, experiment, topic, or method that you like to share with undergraduates? Have you found a clever way to engage students and stimulate their curiosity? We want to hear your ideas for new content for The … Read more
Interested in mentoring young scientists (via a robust online platform) as they devise and conduct authentic research? Apply now to be one of 12 Masters of Plant Science Team members for the 2016-17 academic year. One year as a member of the Master Plant Science Team has the potential to positively affect the rest of … Read more
Improving Wikipedia’s Science Content Collaboratively A major component of the 2016 Year of Science (YoS) is engaging scientists to work with Wikipedia, and improve Wikipedia’s science content. One way Wikipedia is doing that is by partnering with major scientific societies for a series of ‘edit-a-thons,’ workshops, and talks at conferences throughout the year. This includes … Read more
Transcriptomic data reveal how an organism or tissue expresses its genes (through transcription into mRNA) at any moment in time, and these data are extremely valuable when trying to describe plant growth, development and environmental response. For example, roots can be starved for the nutrient phosphate and the time course and pattern of gene expression … Read more
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