Career building: Where do you want to go and how will you get there?

Last month I spent a few days at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam, where I gave a talk about career building for early career researchers. I’ve shared the slides and here I summarize the take-home messages and links. Chance favors the prepared mind By now you’ve heard that there are … Read more

Calvin Cycle, Calvin-Benson Cycle or other?

How do you describe the cycle that involves carboxylation and regeneration of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate that was elucidated by the work of Melvin Calvin, Andrew Benson and James Bassham? As a student, I learned that this is the Calvin Cycle, but a quick survey of the literature reveals that it is also described as the Calvin-Benson … Read more

I’m Plant Scientist Dr. Stacy DeBlasio, & this is how I work

Location: USDA-ARS, Ithaca Current job/title: Postdoctoral fellow One word that describes how you work: Hard Favorite thing you do at work: Western Blot Analysis Favorite plant: Hairy nightshade One interesting project you have been working on: Here in the Cilia lab we use a mass spec compatible cross-linker to fine-map the binding interfaces between plant viral proteins and the proteins … Read more

Behind the scenes with Brilliant Botany’s Claire Hopkins

Many scientists are exploring the use of videos and video blogs (vlogs) for science communication. I asked Claire Hopkins, creator of the Brilliant Botany videos and website, how she got started making science videos and if she has any advice for getting started in science communication.  Here are her replies. (I also invite you to … Read more

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, March 2016

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 March issue of The Plant Cell. Christine Andeme Ondzighi-Assoume, featured first author of Environmental nitrate stimulates root tip abscisic acid accumulation via release from inactive stores Current Position: Research Scientist, Plant … Read more

SURF’s Up with Maria Sorkin on Imgur

Maria Sorkin is a 2015 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship recipient with ASPB. As part of the program all SURFers must communicate their research with non-experts (preferably peers)  in an engaging manner. So Maria created the Imgur post: My ASPB SURF Plant Biology Research Project In her post, Maria explains, Last summer, I used my funds … Read more

Plant Biology 2016: An Interview with Harry Klee About the Major Symposia—Developing Healthier Foods: Quality, Nutrition, and Molecular Gastronomy

Harry Klee, Ph.D, University of Florida, has organized an important Major Symposia for the Plant Biology 2016 conference on developing healthier foods. Joining Dr. Klee for the sessions will be: Andy Allan, Ph.D, Plant and Food in New Zealand Linda Bartoshuk, Ph.D, University of Florida Cathie Martin, Ph.D,  John Innes Center Here are just a … Read more

ASPB joins ESC in support of FY17 DOE Office of Science appropriation

ASPB joins Energy Science Coalition Fiscal Year 2017 Funding Statement for the Department of Energy Office of Science. Recognizing the importance of basic research to the DOE’s energy mission, the Department has dedicated $1.8 billion within the DOE Office of Science budget as that office’s contribution to the Mission Innovation initiative, a worldwide effort to … Read more

Should I stay or should I go? Abundance as a new null hypothesis for determination of mRNA mobility

This week’s Research in Focus is reprinted from an In Brief published by Science Editor Nancy Hofmann in The Plant Cell, which summarizes an article newly published by  Calderwood et al. This study explores the distribution and identity of mobile mRNA within the plant body, and presents a hypothesis that abundance in companion cells is … Read more

I’m Plant Scientist Elizabeth Haswell and this is how I work

Bio: I am an Associate Professor of Biology at Washington University in Saint Louis. I grew up in eastern Washington State, did a BS in Biochemistry at University of Washington with Luca Comai and Ted Young. I receive a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California San Francisco, working on yeast chromatin remodeling in … Read more

The PALM Network Spring 2016 Fellows

  Inaugural class sets high standards for a growing program. Mentoring Matters Our Society takes an active and collaborative role in the Promoting Active Learning & Mentoring (PALM) Network. PALM funds one-on-one, long-term mentorships for faculty or postdocs new to the effective biology education approaches outlined in the Vision and Change recommendations. PALM Fellows work … Read more

Phytochromes in diatoms: Sensing far-red light in the deep-blue sea

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  Fortunato et al. This study explores the role of diatom phytochromes in sensing red and far-red light. In land plants, phytochromes sense red and far-red light and … Read more

Scott Kelly: a small step for a man…ending plant blindness – everywhere

This entry is re-blogged from NASA’s recent post. On Jan. 16, 2016, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly shared photographs of a blooming zinnia flower in the Veggie plant growth system aboard the International Space Station. Kelly wrote, “Yes, there are other life forms in space! #SpaceFlower #YearInSpace” This flowering crop experiment began on Nov. 16, 2015, … Read more

Growing curiosity: Using plants to engage students in hands-on science education

By Courtney Price, Education & Outreach Specialist, Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center & Center for Applied Plant Sciences In order to engage students in the learning process it is important to provide opportunities for hands-on activities that bring to life important science concepts. However, for some educators the task of developing new lesson plans that demonstrate … Read more

Fascination of Plants Day 2015 – Success Stories Published!

 Now available:  Fascination of Plants Day Success Stories 2015 Thanks to the voluntary contributions and hard work of many people in the plant science community around the world the Fascination of Plants Day (FoPD) 2015 was a huge success.  This publication celebrates how so much diversity –  in terms of individual demographics, activity content and … Read more