Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

There is a massive amount of human genomic DNA sequence data, and it is now possible to identify correlates with specific disease, drug sensitivity and physiological variation.  The concept of “genomic medicine” or “precision medicine” is that therapeutic interventions are guided by genetic information.  In today’s podcast we speak with Dr. Julie Johnson.  Dr. Johnson is a Dean and Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Florida.  She outlines what precision medicine is, along with some of its strengths and limitations, as well as some predictions of new approaches on the horizon to improve delivery of specific therapies.  Co-hosted by Dr. Karla Claudio.The views and opinions of this podcast do not necessarily those of the University of Florida, its faculty or students, and it is produced entirely separately from the university with all funding provided personally by Kevin Folta# COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

 Nitrogen is essential for crop growth.  That reality has led to intensive crop fertilization using nitrogen fixed through the Haber-Bosch process, which has energy costs in production and transport.  At the same time there are well known examples of nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with plants, as well as some that colonize within the plant itself.  Can these naturally occurring bacteria actually be used within the plant to assist in the nitrogen fixation process?  Nolan Berg joins the podcast from Azotics, a company with a pioneer product.  This bacterial strain lives within the plant, fixing nitrogen and limiting the need for exogenous application.Visit the Azotic North America website here. Follow Azotic North America on Twitter:  @AzoticNA The views and opinions of this podcast do not necessarily those of the University of Florida, its faculty or students, and it is produced entirely separately from the university with all funding provided personally by Kevin Folta# COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

While the country of Australia has been growing genetically-engineered crops for over 15 years, the state of South Australia has banned their use.  This moratorium has been in place since 2004, and requires farmers to shift to alternative crop protection strategies that often have a significant yield penalty. Recent changes in political representation in the region appeared to be more farmer friendly, and many felt that change was coming. Unfortunately, local activists connected to Green Party representatives in Parliament, were able to derail efforts to end the moratorium. Today’s podcast meets with Caroline Rhodes, CEO of Grain Producers South Australia.  She describes the rationale behind the ban, the effects, and next steps to ensure seed sovereignty. Ultimately this is a case of restricting farmer choice, and a look into the playbook of how to manipulate politicians with fear, uncertainty and doubt.Follow this story:  @GrainProducerSA Follow Caroline Rhodes: @bespoke_rural The song “A Little Help From GM” played can be heard here: The views and opinions of this podcast do not necessarily those of the University of Florida, its faculty or students, and it is produced entirely separately from the university with all funding provided personally by Kevin Folta# COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

The genomics era has generated tremendous data sets, yet the information they reveal is limited by the human biases that search them.  Are there ways to examine complex data sets for hidden patterns that can unearth new perspectives in biology?  This is the role of machine learning, and the patterns form the basis of artificial intelligence that then executes new tasks.  While these concepts seem difficult to fathom, Dr. Gabe Musso makes them understandable, and describes the ways they may be applied in contemporary contexts.The BioSymetrics website is here The BioSymetrics Twitter feed is here.# COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

There is an unfortunate side to egg production.  Only female chickens produce eggs, so layers are selected at hatching.  Chicks are sexed with a vent inspection. Females are kept for egg production.  Males live a short ride down a conveyor into a chipper, where they are instantly killed.  This practice raises ethical and practical questions.  Dr. Nigel Urwin and his collaborators devised a way to identify the sex of eggs before hatching, allowing male eggs to be saved for direct consumption or vaccine manufacture. The concept is brilliant yet unfortunately stalled.  It is a great solution to an important problem with interesting  ethical edges. The Original Article in The Guardian# COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

Michele Payn is a much sought after speaker, author and podcast host.  She has introduced the third book in her trilogy, this one about the phenomenon of others taking issue with someone’s food choices.  The book, aptly titled “Food Bullying”, explores the social-psychological basis of food bullying as well as important issues in agriculture that conjure the response. She presents an important snapshot of the current state of food discussions, as food is not just something we eat, it is the basis of a much deeper connection to social status and group identity.Michele’s website Follow Michele on Twitter: @mpaynspeaker Purchase the book at her site here Find the book on Amazon here# COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

Can we use genetic engineering to help the body’s immune system target cancer cells?  This is exactly what happens with CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy.  CAR-T cells are T-cells, immune cells of the body that are reprogrammed to identify specific surface signatures that define specific types of cancer cells.  It allows these immune agents to seek and destroy cancer cells with great accuracy and with fewer side effects to traditional chemotherapy or radiation.  While in their infancy, these techniques show great promise for future therapies. Today’s guest is Dr. Joe Fraietta, a leader in CAR-T cell solutions.  He explains how the technology works, describes its applications and future uses. # COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

The Impossible Burger is meat alternative that gets its meat-like qualities from a combination of plant-based ingredients, plus “meatiness” from a biotech-derived product. There is a lot of discussion about the product, and the internet has even questioned the safety of the biotechnology steps used in its creation.  This episode discusses the Impossible Burger with Dr. Chana Davis, a scientist familiar with the product.  We discuss questions about meat alternatives, processed food, and if this truly is a vegetable replacement.  We also share thoughts on the future of food and if everything will someday be derived from a manufacturing process.Follow Dr. Davis on Twitter: The Fueled by Science Facebook Page Her blog, Fueled by Science# COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

Cotton production is massive, but mostly used for fiber. The cotton seed is a tremendous potential resource as it contains high amounts of oil and high-quality protein.  However, the seeds are not directly edible by most mammals because they contain a toxic chemical called gossypol.  Gossypol is a terpenoid that the plant produces as a natural insecticide.  A team led by Dr. Keerti Rathore at Texas A&M University has worked for decades to produce cottonseed without gossypol. The plants have now been approved for production by USDA-APHIS and the FDA.  The technology may now be used to produce new cotton lines that generate massive amounts of high-protein seed, leading to new human food and animal feed, ultimately benefitting farmers, the environment and the food insecure.# COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

The Farm Babe Michelle Miller is a farmer, speaker, columnist and blogger that advocates for agricultural producers, and seeks to better connect consumers to agricultural reality.  She recently attended Farm Aid, the annual concert event that originally was held to provide funding to struggling farmers in the 1980’s.  Since then farming has become even more challenging, but Farm Aid has seemed to shift its focus to more political causes than direct farmer assistance. Michelle reports what she experienced at a recent Farm Aid concert and its associated press conference. It is clear that they have minimal interest in supporting large “factory” producers and are focusing on practices and production techniques that are more compatible with a specific agenda about food.Follow Michelle on Twitter:  @TheFarmBabe And her website.# COLABRATalking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/# TALKING BIOTECHTwitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotechWebsite: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahqThe Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.