pronald
Posts by this author
January 2, 2010
The idea of writing this particular grant proposal at this specific time clearly makes no sense in the framework of my life, with teaching and traveling and kids and a million other things to do. It would border on the insane to try to do this now and to do it well. Yet the intrinsic impossibility…
January 1, 2010
In Memoriam, [Ring out, wild bells]
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year…
December 21, 2009
On this blog, I will no longer be attempting to explain the difference between genetic engineering and molecular breeding. Instead I will simply refer those interested to Paul Voosen's fine article on the subject published in Scientific American and the New York Times today.
December 16, 2009
If you are a poor farmer in China, do you care if Monsanto dominates the seed industry in the US?
Apparently not. Several recent reports indicate a rapid launch of GE crops in the less developed world- independent of the US corporate seed industry.
The first news story, reported in the Wall Street…
December 6, 2009
For most people, a fruitcake is an over-sweetened store-bought concoction, dry and dreadful, something to be thrown away as soon as the gift-giving friend has stepped off the front porch or quickly recycled to an unsuspecting colleague.
But this is not how I feel about my mother's fruitcake, a…
November 29, 2009
One of the pleasures of reading Stewart Brand's new book, "Whole Earth Discipline", is that when it comes to managing the Earth's ecosystem, he is unconstrained by conventional wisdom.
In a break with many old-school environmentalists, Brand argues that the established Green agenda is outdated,…
November 24, 2009
Guest blog by Mateo Burtch.
Dear Ms. Doctor Ronald--
I recently had the opportunity to read Simplicity Today, the magazine of the University of Reed alumni association, and its article on you (or someone who looks like you and has the same name as you and is apparently you). I found it to be…
November 18, 2009
An article in the Harvard International Review by Paul Collier paints a stark view of African peasantry. Collier presents a convincing argument that for African agriculture to become more productive, it needs modern agricultural technologies and new modes of organization
(Thanks to Eric Ward for…
November 16, 2009
An appropriate technology, as asserted by the economist Schumacher in his book Small is Beautiful, should promote values such as health, beauty, and permanence. Low cost and low maintenance requirements are also of prime importance in Schumacher's definition.
Considering both Schumacher's…
November 8, 2009
Guest blogger Rob Hebert is a second-year student at Georgetown Law. Before moving to DC, he lived in Brooklyn, NY, just blocks from a bar that had over twenty-five beers on tap and thirty arcade machines that all played for a quarter. He can draw you a pretty interesting graph relating "Drinks…
November 7, 2009
I am traveling now far away from home towards a large lake in Zurich. What a perfect time to receive this poem from Jan Visser.
Le Lac (written in 1820 by Alphonse de Lamartine)
Ainsi, toujours poussés vers de nouveaux rivages,
dans la nuit éternelle emportés sans retour,
ne pourrons-nous jamais…
November 7, 2009
The Daily Star of Dhaka reports today that flood-tolerant rice will soon be officially released in Bangladesh.
The flood-tolerant rice varieties (called Sub1- rice) can help farmers, many who live on less than $1/day, dramatically increase yield during floods.
Dave Mackill of the International…
November 5, 2009
In plant and animal innate immunity, like many of the dances of life, it takes two to tango. A receptor molecule in the plant pairs up with a specific molecule on the invading bacteria and, presto, the immune system swings into action to defend against the invasion of the disease-causing microbe.…
November 4, 2009
The Changemakers international online community selected biofortified, a group website devoted to providing factual information and fostering discussion about plant genetics, especially genetic engineering, as the grand prize winner in the GMO Risk or Rescue Competition. This would not have been…
November 3, 2009
Kent J. Bradford, Professor of Plant Sciences and Academic Director of the Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis, is today's guest blogger.
Ever since our ancestors adopted an agricultural lifestyle about 10,000 years ago, our own sustainability has been intimately tied with that of our food…
October 29, 2009
Frank N. Foods reports that Biofortified, a science-based blog about plant genetics, gathered more votes than the closest challenger on the changemaker "GMO risk or rescue" competition by a 2-to-1 margin. How did this happen? The science blogging community Pharyngulated the competition thanks to a…
October 28, 2009
When it comes to plants, there can be no gene flow without two compatible partners. And most plants are quite choosy, preferring a close relative rather than someone outside its family. Pollen travels in gusts of wind, on the pollen basket of bees, as cargo of flies or in the hands of human plant…
October 27, 2009
A recent article in the New York Times indicates that the anti-vaccinators are taking advantage of the H1N1 epidemic to sow fear of vaccination in the population. With 292 deaths so far this year from the H1N1 virus (32% children) you would think parents would take no chances. In contrast consider…
October 26, 2009
An update from Karl Haro von Mogel:
"A little more than an hour after PZ's post, GM Watch in the UK has wildly claimed that the 'biotech industry' is fixing the contest!"
"The level of conspiracy theorizing reaches astronomical proportions at a moment's notice. Please keep voting, so they won't…
October 24, 2009
The latest comments on my new blog reflect ample confusion about whether or not plant genetics can help poor farmers in India.
To demonstrate the power of genetics, I have posted a time-lapse video (4 months) showing the performance of a genetically improved rice in a flooded field plot at the…
October 24, 2009
"We will restore science to its rightful place". Oh what sweet words. Has Obama lived up to his vows? A recent story suggests that a change of administration at the White House does not necessarily mean that the best science will be of high priority when informing the public.
Karl Haro von Mogel…
October 23, 2009
Hello all,
Biofortified is in the running to win the Ashoka Changemakers contest, GMO Risk or Rescue. But Karl Haro von Mogel needs your help, dear readers. The contest entries close on October 21, and the voting will continue to the 28th. The grand prize is a $1500 grant and a conversation with…
October 22, 2009
Until his favorite heirloom tomatoes died on the vine after succumbing to late blight disease, Chef Dan Barber believed that science when applied to agriculture was "suspect, a violation of the slow food aesthetic". Unfortunately, this distrust of science hurts farmers, consumers, and the planet.…
October 15, 2009
After a short blogging break, Tomorrow's Table is back at its new home here at ScienceBlogs. On this weblog I will discuss topics related to food, farming and genetics.
I am a Professor at the University of California, Davis where I study the response of rice to diseases and flooding. For more on…