Talking Biotech
The Talking Biotech Podcast is dedicated to the topic of biotechnology. These powerful methods have been extremely useful in medicine and agriculture, and hold great potential for the future. Despite their promise, there is substantial skepticism in the public regarding these technologies. A food-secure population, a profitable fear-driven anti-biotech industry, and a lack of scientific literacy hinders application of these technologies from reaching those that could use them. The companies and scientists that understand biotechnology are not explaining it well to the concerned public.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
Talking Biotech: How barley gave us pregnancy tests, beer and helped launch an agricultural revolution
Dr. Sheila Adimargono joins Kevin Folta on this week's podcast to discuss barley's role in plant domestication and the development ...
Talking Biotech: Disturbing new details on Putin’s anti-GMO propaganda campaign designed to sow political discord in the U.S.
An examination by social scientists revealed "surprising evidence" of a Russian campaign aimed at discrediting GMOs and influencing public opinion ...
Talking Biotech: Mark Lynas’ evolution from anti-GMO activist to GMO advocate
Writer Mark Lynas discusses his life as an anti-GMO activist, why he changed his mind, and his new book Seeds ...
Talking Biotech: Why Irish scientist Rosalind Franklin didn’t get the credit she deserved for the discovery of the structure of DNA
Geneticist Mark Lawler: Despite being instrumental in the discovery of DNA’s double-helical structure, Rosalind Franklin died at the age of ...
Talking Biotech: Mexico’s complicated relationship with GMO corn
Mexico is the center of origin for maize, and there is a substantial interest in protecting the genetic integrity of ...
Talking Biotech: Is modern wheat breeding to blame for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity?
Food scientist Senay Simsek: Gluten sensitivity is not caused by the genetic improvement of wheat varieties ...
Talking Biotech: From non-GMO to organic, has food labeling gone too far?
Elanco's Colleen Parr Dekker: Product differentiation and marketing—not transparency and education—are why food companies adopt trendy labels ...
Talking Biotech: Can genetically engineered cassava help African farmers?
Plant scientist Devang Mehta: African farmers lose 24% of their cassava crop each year on average due to the mosaic ...
Talking Biotech: What’s keeping disease-resistant GMO bananas from Ugandan farmers?
Ugandan researcher Nassib Mugwanya: GMO bananas are the best tool we have to save bananas from bacterial wilt, but Uganda's ...
Talking Biotech: Roundup Ready GMO crops made weed management ‘easy’—an agronomist’s view
Kentucky agronomist Chad Lee: Farmers choose herbicide-tolerant GMO crops because they simplify effective weed management and enable no-till farming ...
Talking Biotech: Non-agricultural debt—not GMOs—to blame for Indian farmer suicides
Environmental scientist Vaishnavi Tripuraneni: Marriage loans and health care—not seed costs—are the main drivers of debt for smallholder farmers in ...
Talking Biotech: Can biofortified GMO soybeans help tackle vitamin A deficiency?
Plant scientist Monica Schmidt: By modifying only one gene, a new variety of soybeans has higher levels of beta-carotene than ...
Talking Biotech: Using plants as ‘biofactories’ for vaccines, biofuels and more
Plant biologist Beth Hood: Scientists are genetically modifying plants to produce ingredients for a variety of important industrial and therapeutic ...
Talking Biotech: How rice became one of the world’s most important food crops
Rice geneticist Susan McCouch: How and where rice was domesticated, and how many varieties are there? ...
Talking Biotech: How do we decide whether to use gene drives?
Science and technology scholar Jennifer Kuzma: The social and political considerations of using gene drives to combat human diseases, weeds, ...
Talking Biotech: The powerful potential—and risks—of CRISPR engineered ‘gene drives’
Evolutionary biologist Fred Gould: 'Gene drives' can be found in nature. Now, scientists want to engineer them to decrease populations ...
Talking Biotech: The genetic factors that makes sweet corn sweet
Geneticist Curt Hannah: Sweet corn was specifically discovered and selected because of its sweetness. But how does a kernel of ...
Talking Biotech: How USAID uses GMO crops to improve food security around the world
USAID science advisor Angela Records: Disease-resistant GMO cassava, bananas show promise in improving food security in developing countries ...
Talking Biotech: ‘Farm Babe’ Michelle Miller takes on critics of GMOs, modern farming
Writer Michelle Miller: The 'Food Babe' is critical of those who marginalize farmers and farming, and a powerful voice for ...
Talking Biotech: Can Oxitec’s genetically engineered insects combat fall armyworm crop damage and famine in Africa?
Oxitec's Simon Warner: Engineered male fall armyworms contain a gene that prevents female offspring from reaching adulthood, reducing wild pest ...
Talking Biotech: Should milk, meat and eggs from animals fed GMO crops be labeled?
Geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam: Data shows that products from animals fed genetically engineered crops are no different than those fed ...
Talking Biotech: Know Ideas Media gives scientists platform to discuss future of food and farming
Canadian filmmaker Nick Saik is taking the 100+ hours of footage he recorded for his Know GMO documentary and turning ...
Talking Biotech: 91-year-old geneticist Maxine Thompson aims to expand fruit diversity with new berry breeds
Oregon State fruit breeder Maxine Thompson: A trailblazer in plant science, now retired from academia, she continues to work on ...
Talking Biotech: Bayer geneticist Ray Shillito on communicating with the public about agricultural biotechnology, and more
Bayer plant scientist Ray Shillito: Educating the next generation of scientists about how to communicate with the public will help ...
Talking Biotech’s best biotechnology science stories from 2017—and what to expect in 2018
Talking Biotech hosts Kevin Folta and Paul Vincelli talk about their favorite stories from 2017, and what to look for ...
Talking Biotech: How genetic engineering can reduce cancer-causing contaminants in peanuts
Plant pathologist Dilip Shah: GMO peanuts could help eliminate a potent threat to human health in the developing world ...
Talking Biotech: Science Moms documentary explores how parents can navigate GMO and food disinformation on the web
Filmmaker Natalie Newell: Despite the film being funded entirely by an online crowdfunding campaign, the Science Moms have been attacked ...
Talking Biotech: How will dicamba herbicide-resistant GMO crops fare after contamination fiasco?
Agronomist Karen Corrigan: Companies, farmers, and weed scientists should focus more on solutions to dicamba drift issues and less on ...
