Science Communication: challenges to ensure innovation can prove itself scientifically
Posted 6th July 2021 by Nicholas Noakes
John Entine is a science journalist who has been writing about sustainability issues in biotechnology for 30 years. He has written numerous books on both population genetic related issues and agricultural biotechnology. Presenting at the Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress, he gave his perspective on the communication challenges faced by scientists by looking specifically at gene drives and addressing misunderstandings about what the technology can do and active opposition to it by some environmental groups.
Plant biotech in Europe: Present and future
Posted 4th March 2020 by Liv Sewell
Marcel Kuntz is a panellist for the panel discussion on the regulatory landscape for plant biotechnology at the 8th Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: Europe. Here he provides us with some background for the discussion.
Wild wheat, plant genomics, and food security
Posted 24th February 2020 by Liv Sewell
Wheat is the most widely grown crop in the world, providing 20% of the calories and proteins consumed by humankind. More than one fifth of the projected yield is lost every year to disease. Dr Brande Wulff, Group Leader at the John Innes Centre, and speaker at the 8th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress, Europe, is leading research aiming to reduce the proportion of wheat lost to pathogens and increase global food security…
The future of GMOs, gene editing and plant biotechnology in post-Brexit UK
Posted 10th January 2020 by Liv Sewell
Growing and selling genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is permitted in the UK but GMO products are subject to a lengthy and stringent EU authorization process. There are currently no GM crops grown commercially in the UK, but they are imported. So, what is the UK’s relationship with GM products, and where do we stand on gene editing? We spoke with Nigel Halford, Principal Research Scientist at Rothamsted Research, UK.
Acrylamide, Plant Genomics and the Food Industry
Posted 30th December 2019 by Liv Sewell
Ahead of the 8th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress, we asked keynote speaker Nigel Halford, Principal Research Scientist at Rothamsted Research, UK, to share with us the background to his research…
Presentation Slides from the 7th Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: USA
Posted 29th November 2019 by Joshua Sewell
The recent 7th Plant Genomics Congress: USA provided a fantastic opportunity to discover how novel gene-editing technologies, CRISPR and other ‘omics’ technologies are being applied to research and product development. We have made the following slides from Jerry Feitelson, Lynne Reuber, Greg Bryan and Chloe Pavely available to view.
How CRISPR will guide the way to better cancer therapies
Posted 26th July 2019 by Jane Williams
This article was originally published on Open Targets and is republished with kind permission.
For many cancers we don’t have an effective treatment option, and worse still, a lot of the therapies that we use are just not good enough. We need better cancer therapies, and we need them now.
The reason we need new therapies is actually the reason why I got into cancer research. It goes back to when I was only 17 when my Mam was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). She went through her treatment, chemotherapy, with another 12 patients, and unfortunately she was the only one who survived.
The Top 5 Plant Genomics Articles of 2018
Posted 26th December 2018 by Jane Williams
It has been an eventful year for plant genomics: we’ve seen advancements in plant disease research, the sequencing of the wheat genome, which was finally achieved through a worldwide collaboration of researchers spanning 13 years, and the ruling on the legal status of gene-edited crops.
As 2018 draws to a close, we thought it was a good time to reflect. Here, we’ve collated our top articles of the year.