Kevin Folta
Podcast: GMOs = witchcraft? ‘Big Ag’ didn’t cause coronavirus; Remdesivir for COVID-19
We finally have a drug to treat COVID-19 in remdesivir, but how well does it work? Anti-GMO activists have blamed ...
Podcast: Norman Borlaug a hero? Spread coronavirus for herd immunity? CRISPR v. agroecology
Norman Borlaug's Green Revolution saved an estimated billion people from starvation, but critics contend his work brought severe environmental and ...
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: Coronavirus conspiracies deadlier than the disease? Next pandemic worse? Spit test spots more COVID-19
A dearth of coronavirus tests has exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic in the US and elsewhere, but a newly FDA-approved test ...
Podcast: Coronavirus ‘antidote’ from recovered patient blood? Did the virus escape from a lab? Anti-science activism causes needless harm
While political leaders and scientists speculate that coronavirus is beginning to loosen its grip on the world, hospitals are considering ...
Podcast: GMOs to blame for coronavirus? Catching COVID-19 twice; junk studies fuel biotech skepticism
As the world continues to struggle against the rapidly spreading coronavirus, anti-GMO activists are blaming crop biotechnology for the pandemic ...
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 and food safety; debunking the ‘Dirty Dozen’; COVID-19 cure worse than the disease?
As the world takes unprecedented measures to blunt the coronavirus pandemic, some commentators argue 'the cure is worse than the ...
Podcast: Coronavirus isn’t just a bad flu; COVID-19 vaccine may be delayed; and have we cured HIV?
The novel coronavirus is not just "the flu," contrary to what you may have read on social media. There may ...
Podcast: Fighting blindness with CRISPR. Ophthalmologist in groundbreaking study explains how gene editing could treat a once-incurable disease
Congenital eye disorders can rob children of their eyesight at a young age and severely diminish their quality of life ...
Podcast: Fighting drug-resistant bacteria; consumers embrace CRISPR-edited food; bomb-detecting plants; and life-saving biosimilar medicines
Our inability to rapidly detect the novel coronavirus has made it difficult to properly combat COVID-19 ...
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: Treating blindness with CRISPR; customized cancer drugs; Beyond Meat v. critics; saving bananas from extinction
As genetic engineering reshapes intimate aspects of our lives, is the public on board? ...
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 to build a coronavirus; alcohol doesn’t shrink your brain; and locusts threaten famine in East Africa
Kevin Folta and Cameron English break down four of the latest headlines from the world of genetics and biotech ...
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? ...
CRISPR gene editing means more high-yield, disease-resistant crops likely to hit the market
Since the millennium rolled over 20 years ago, the pace of genetic discovery has only accelerated. Nobody could have predicted ...
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 ...
Viewpoint: After years of bashing agriculture and GMOs, Chipotle reverses course with ‘Cultivate the Future of Farming’ campaign
Given Chipotle's past cozy relationship with organic food marketers, this seems more like a marketing stunt ...
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 ...