Yesterday I attended a "Careers in Industry" discussion where it was noted that people working in industry often benefit from more structured mentoring programs than are the norm in academia. The lack of formal mentoring programs and mentor training has long been noted as a weakness in the academic…

Are you interested in science writing? Do you want to help people understand complex scientific issues?   Apply for the ASPB/AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows Program and learn how to increase public understanding of science and technology. Fellows in the 10-week 2018 summer…

GOES magazine (www.goesmagazine.org) provides the opportunity for science students to get involved in publishing and not only writing articles about their research, experiences and scientific fun facts, but also seeing how editing, proof-reading and designing is done in real time. GOES stands for Global…

Peroxisomes are endoplasmic reticulum-derived membrane-enclosed organelles in which many oxidative enzymatic reactions are compartmentalized. These reactions and their products contribute to energy production, detoxification, and signaling. Kao et al. review our understanding of the plant peroxisome,…

ASPB and Plantae have already set a tone of collaboration and constant improvement by and for plant scientists. In keeping with our commitment to providing the best recruitment resources for our members, we are excited to announce the launch of our new and expanded online employment resource: the…

Another excellent entry in PLOS Computational Biology's "Ten Simple Rules" series. Read "Ten simple rules for writing a response to reviewers" here. Short version: Rule 1: Provide an overview, then quote the full set of reviews Rule 2: Be polite and respectful of all reviewers Rule 3: Accept…

Because of their important roles in attracting pollinators, the secondary or specialized metabolites of flowers (color, fragrance) get a lot of attention. Borghi and Fernie argue that flower function is equally dependent on primary (central) metabolites, which not only provide the precursors for secondary…

The liverwort Marchantia polymorpha is a fascinating plant for many reasons, including the fact that it is one of the earliest terrestrial species that split off from the rest of the land plants. Therefore, comparisons between Marchantia and green algae or Marchantia and the rest of the land plants tell…