Entries by Mary Williams

NSF – NIFA Plant Biotic Interactions Program (PBI)

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The Plant Biotic Interactions (PBI) program supports research on the processes that mediate beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and their viral, bacterial, oomycete, fungal, plant, and invertebrate symbionts, pathogens and pests. This joint NSF-NIFA program supports projects focused on current and emerging model and non-model systems and agriculturally relevant plants. http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505267&ods_key=nsf16551 Who Is Eligible […]

Research Awards and Fellowships at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

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The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University promotes and supports research consistent with its mission to discover and disseminate knowledge of the plant kingdom. To foster both independent and collaborative work, the Arboretum offers fellowships and awards to students, post-doctoral researchers, and professionals of the biological and horticultural sciences. Applicants are encouraged to define and develop […]

Plant Feedstocks Genomics for Bioenergy: A Joint Research Funding Opportunity Announcement USDA, DOE

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research (BER), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), hereby announce their interest in receiving applications for genomicsbased research that will lead to the improved use of plant biomass and feedstocks for the production of biofuels and […]

Pushing back the dawn of life

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Our understandings of the forces that have shaped Earth and the forces that have shaped life on Earth have common roots. Charles Darwin was famously inspired by the work of early geologists such as Charles Lyell, who proposed that Earth was subject to slow but gradual change. This idea recurs in Darwin’s insights about evolution […]

GARNet2016 CRISPR/Cas workshop presentation

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Slides from the recent CRISPR/Cas workshop held at the GARNet2016 meeting are now available to download. Organized by Vladimir Nekrasov and Amanda Hopes (The Sainsbury Laboratory/University of East Anglia, UK), the workshop title was, “Introduction to CRISPR-Cas, troubleshooting target design and verification of mutants.” The meeting included: 1. Introduction on CRISPR/Cas as a tool for genome editing […]

Did a Swedish researcher eat the first CRISPR meal ever served?

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From Science, By Jon Cohen Sep. 7, 2016 http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/09/did-swedish-researcher-eat-first-crispr-meal-ever-served In what Swedish plant scientist Stefan Jansson declares “maybe” a historic event, he cultivated, grew, and ate a plant that had its genome edited with CRISPR-Cas9. Umeå University, where Jansson studies how trees know it’s autumn and how proteins allow plants to harvest light, released a […]

Mining the Gap: Assessing Leadership Needs to Improve 21st Century Plant Pathology

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Plant pathologists like all other scientists are imparted scientific knowledge and technical expertise, building the educational side of their career. Beckerman and Schneider emphasize the pressing needs of teaching ‘soft skills’ scientists need in order to improve their leadership and professional management abilities in advancing their careers. The authors emphasize the strategic inclusion of ‘soft […]

Adaptive evolution of complex traits explored through genome biogeography

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It has been stated that adaptive evolution occurs in plant populations with respect to various complex traits. Olofsson et al. validated the hypothesis that different components of a complex trait can evolve in isolation and later be combined by gene flow by using C4 photosynthesis as a study system. Local adaptations might fix certain alleles […]

E/quality and Diversity

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Recently, I was asked it if is ethical to give a job to a woman rather than to a man of higher quality. I replied, “How do we measure “quality”? This is the longer answer that I didn’t have time to provide. The opinions expressed are my own. Achievement does not equal quality Imagining that […]