Welcome to Episode 3 of our weekly feature, Plants in the News. These stories are selected to provide educators with interesting and accessible news from the world of plant science. Although some of the stories we feature are based on articles with restricted access, we also provide links to news summaries that are available without … Read more
“The Martian” opens October 2. Why should you care? Because it is one of the most-anticipated movies of the year and it features a botanist, played by Matt Damon, in the lead role. Here’s the trailer. Botanists have appeared in big films previously; Laura Dern’s character in Jurassic Park (1993) was a paleobotanist, which is … Read more
Karrikins are small molecules found in smoke that promote seed germination and have been associated with the activation of seeds following fire (Nelson et al., 2012). Strigolactones are structurally similar small molecules that act as endogenous hormones and as secreted signals that promote the germination of parasitic plants and branching responses in mycrorrhizal fungi (Brewer … Read more
By Dana D’Amico Part 1/2 Last year, the Center for Food Integrity (CFI), a non-profit working to facilitate public confidence in the US food system, conducted a consumer survey. The survey focused on a few key groups –mothers, foodies, and millennials –and aimed to examine ‘messenger trust’ related to issues like GM safety. Before any … Read more
ASPB joins AIBS letter to Senate Commerce on reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. Through competitive, peer-reviewed research grants, the NSF funds discoveries that will help to solve the most challenging problems facing society. NSF research, education, and training programs lead to new patents, prepare a highly skilled workforce, and stimulate the creation of new … Read more
Welcome to Episode 2 of our weekly feature, Plants in the News. These stories are selected to provide educators with interesting and accessible news from the world of plant science. Although some of the stories we feature are based on articles with restricted access, we also provide links to news summaries that are available without … Read more
This week’s Research in Focus article has two take-home messages. The first is about how an important plant pathogen is recognized by its host: specifically, the role of a newly-identified tyrosine-sulfated bacterial protein. The second is about the process of science and the foundation of trust on which it rests: specifically, how to proceed when … Read more
By Dana D’Amico In my last post, I introduced a few ways that the plant science community might look to storytelling and literature for outreach. Here, I’ll present some practical tips for working with science writers, as corroborated by working journalists at the Plant Biology 2015 “Standing Up For Science” workshop in Minneapolis (and for … Read more
This post is part of the Recognizing our Authors series. Xing Wang Deng The Plant Cell, Plant Physiology Xing Wang Deng is a university endowed professor of plant biology at Peking University. He graduated from Peking University in 1985 with an MS degree and then from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1989 with a … Read more
In an increasingly competitive environment to earn federal grants, opportunities exist to help researchers at the beginning of their careers. The following report contains an overview of federal government funding opportunities and fellowship programs that provide support for early career researchers working at universities or other non-government institutions. Some programs provide support for early career … Read more
We’re starting a new weekly feature, “Plants in the News”. This feature is inspired by the This Week in Chemistry series published by Compound Interest (Andy Brunning). The goal is to support teaching and outreach by highlighting a few current news stories that feature plants and plant science. If you have a timely suggestion for … Read more
After four long days at a conference, all you want to do is board a flight home, crawl into bed, and try to forget how your boss saw you dancing at the open-bar party. But on July 30, 2015, a dedicated group of scientists and communicators rallied at the end of Plant Biology 2015 conference … Read more
The debut of Wiki Edu’s new course design tools at Plant Biology 2015. Wiki Ed has been eager to show off the course design and monitoring tools that we launched last month. We had our first chance to do so in late July, when Outreach Manager Samantha Erickson and I attended the American … Read more
Inositol phosphates are a family of small molecules in which one to eight phosphates are attached to an inositol ring. The number and positions of phosphates determine the molecules’ properties, which range from phosphate storage to vesicle trafficking, energy signaling and metabolism. Inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6, also known as phytate) has a phosphate group attached to … Read more
By Dana D’Amico I’ll begin my first post by introducing what it is that I do. Like most of you, I’m a trained plant biologist and an ASPB follower. But I’m also a writer. Throughout my career I have studied technical and journalistic writing, both as ways of increasing public interest in and awareness of … Read more
This is my final wrap up of #plantbiology15. My previous posts from before and during the conference (pdf) are here, here, here and here. There was a lot to take in. The final impression of Plant Biology 2015, now that I’ve had a chance to reflect, is that it was a lot. A lot of things to see, do, … Read more
Mid-July and the verdant cool of New Hampshire’s White Mountains provided the idyllic backdrop for the Plant Metabolic Engineering Gordon Research Conference and its 150 attendees. Organized by co-chairs Rick Dixon (U. North Texas) and Sarah O’Connor (John Innes Center), the meeting progressed from showing how our understanding of plant metabolism is changing to emerging … Read more
Twitter is quickly becoming the platform of choice for connections and communications at scientific conferences and beyond. The current culture of science, which values openness, accessibility and broad participation, is enhanced by the barrier-free Twitter environment; everyone has an equal right to participate in Twitter conversations. At several conferences this summer I’ve been asked for … Read more
New to Twitter? Start with Part 1: Twitter Basics Why do people Tweet from talks and conferences? One of the main reasons is to broaden access to science beyond those able to attend a conference, benefitting the science, the speakers, and the off-site participants. Science is moving towards a more open, democratic culture, with Twitter … Read more
Many global challenges facing people around the world are linked directly to plant biology. These challenges include ensuring the sustainable availability of food, fiber, energy, and fresh water for a predicted 9 billion inhabitants in the near future, with many resources already being stretched. Solutions to these and related challenges will depend on scientific innovation … Read more