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.
Trash transformation: Here’s how researchers are turning plastic waste into vanilla flavoring
We have two major problems. Vanilla is mostly produced in a narrow set of unstable economies and the supply chains ...
Podcast: Beyond CRISPR and gene therapy—How ‘gene writing’ is poised to transform the treatment of even the rarest diseases
In just a few short years, gene editing has launched a biomedical revolution, yielding previously unimaginable treatments for conditions ranging ...
Podcast: Can we harness the power of germline editing without inviting disaster?
Gene editing has moved rapidly from the lab to real-world applications in medicine, yielding novel treatments for diseases like sickle ...
Podcast: Activism’s dark side—Earth Liberation Front bombs ‘GMO’ tree lab, destroys endangered plants instead
Law enforcement agencies keep a watchful eye on environmental groups that have engaged in eco-terrorism, notably Greenpeace and PETA, and ...
Talking Biotech: Where did GMOs come from? Former Monsanto scientist Robb Fraley recounts the advent of biotech crops
On the five-year anniversary of the Talking Biotech podcast, host and plant geneticist Kevin Folta sits down with former Monsanto ...
Podcast: How domestication turned cattle into a key source of increasingly sustainable food
Cattle provide meat, milk and hide products to people all over the world, and are used as work animals for ...
Podcast: The misused meta-analysis—How statistical trickery yields impressive but bogus study results
A meta-analysis allows researchers to compile data from many smaller studies and, hopefully, find more conclusive answers to critical public ...
Podcast: Coronavirus—what it is, how it spreads and the surprising ways it might be treated
SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus first detected in China in January, is emerging as a significant threat, with just under 128,000 ...
Podcast: How oil from GMO plants could help prevent heart disease, preserve our oceans and cut fossil fuel use
Omega-3 fatty acids are critical to human health. Among their many benefits, these oils can help preserve eye and brain ...
Podcast: How ‘anti-CRISPR’ viral proteins can fine-tune gene editing in medicine and agriculture
Researchers hope to exploit this viral countermeasure to regulate gene editing and minimize unintended mutations during the editing process ...
Podcast: Tackling ethical questions about CRISPR with GLP’s groundbreaking Global Gene Editing Regulation Tracker and Index
To what degree are nations deploying these revolutionary new tools? ...
Podcast: How ‘fake news’ about avian flu almost sent virologist Ilaria Capua to prison for life
Capua now uses her harrowing experience to educate policymakers and law enforcement about science ...
Podcast: Agricultural economist Stuart Smyth explains the risks and benefits of GMOs and the future of crop biotechnology
Few academics eagerly engage the public on controversial scientific topics, content to quietly focus on their research. Agricultural economist and ...
Podcast: How precision, customized medicine is reshaping health care
For all the life-saving pharmaceuticals, surgeries and devices it provides, modern medicine is still rather imprecise. Chemotherapy drugs, for instance, ...
Podcast: How nitrogen-fixing bacteria can cut fertilizer use 30-50%
In the early 20th century, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch revolutionized agriculture. The two German chemists developed a technique, now ...
Podcast: How activists and politicians derailed South Australia’s attempt to embrace GMO crops
Activists in Australia are manipulating politicians with fear and doubt to restrict farmer choice ...
Podcast: How artificial intelligence, machine learning can help us realize the value of all that genetic data we’re collecting
Everywhere we look these days, someone is talking about the potential for artificial intelligence and machines to change the face ...
Podcast: How food bullying spreads unjustified fears about GMOs, animal welfare and food safety
We've heard a lot in recent years about the harmful impacts of bullying, especially cyber-bullying aimed at children. But rarely ...
Podcast: Genetically engineered CAR-T cell therapies destroy cancer cells. Here’s how they work
Many millions of words have been written about GMO crops. As a result, most people know they can now buy ...
Podcast: Should you eat ‘fake meat’? Geneticist Chana Davis breaks down the GMO Impossible Burger controversy
The Impossible Burger has exploded in popularity across the US, with grocery stores and popular fast-food chains like Burger King ...
Podcast: Edible cotton—how genetic engineering turns toxic seeds into nutritious food
Cotton production is a global industry. Grown by approximately 80 countries, the crop is primarily harvested for fiber to make ...
Podcast: Farm Aid concert meant to support US agriculture spreads GMO, ‘factory farming’ myths
In recent years, Farm Aid's laudable effort to support US agriculture has morphed into a promotional event for organic food ...
Podcast: Synthetic fertilizer pollution threatens our ecosystems. Are nitrogen-fixing microbes the answer?
Farmers need nitrogen fertilizer to maximize crop yields. Without it, our food supply would be nowhere near as abundant as ...
Podcast: How ‘activist science’ behind IARC’s glyphosate assessment fuels unjustified cancer lawsuits
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a monograph concluding that glyphosate, the active ingredient in ...
Podcast: GMO insects loose in the wild? Inside scoop on controversial Oxitec mosquito in Brazil
The tiny mosquito is a nuisance in the industrialized world, yet in developing countries it is a ruthless killer, spreading ...
Podcast: Plagiarism, data fabrication in science threaten public health. Meet one biologist who’s fighting back
Scientific misconduct is a serious problem in academia today. High-profile examples of data fabrication, falsification or plagiarism often generate lots ...
Podcast: GMO rice could yield affordable treatment to stem HIV in developing world
A research team developed an ingenious solution to a logistical public health problem—adding anti-HIV proteins to rice ...
