Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

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.

Nitrogen is a reality of growing plants, and must be supplied to maximize crop yields.  At the same time our atmosphere is >70% nitrogen that is not usable by plants in its atmospheric form.  Humans have devised processes to “fix” nitrogen into plant usable forms, but they require energy and the products need to be transported, both leading to a substantial carbon footprint.  A number of microbes naturally fix nitrogen, yet do not form good associations with all plants.  Joyn Bio is a collaborative effort by a number of companies in chemistry and synthetic biology. Their CEO Dr. Michael Mille talks about efforts to engineer microbes that can form tight associations with crop plants and fix the nitrogen they need.  These strategies seek to lower the carbon footprint of farming, at the same time limiting nitrogen pollution by producing it directly in association with the plant that needs it.The JoynBio website Follow Joyn Bio on Twitter at @JoynBio# 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.

Dr. David Zaruk has become the foremost authority on the questionable practices within the IARC and their decision-making process.  Over the last several years he has taken a key point position in interpreting the IARC’s 2015 decision and the political landscape around the agricultural chemical glyphosate.  While controversy swirls, he brings it back to reality with deep dissections of the politics involved in the IARC guidance and other regulatory decisions. He has paid a personal and professional price for telling the truth. He is undoubtedly the leader in communicating the facts about the activist assault on science, reason, and a low-toxicity agricultural chemical.Dr. Zaruk’s website. Follow Dr. Zaruk on Twitter:  @zaruk# 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 tiny mosquito is a nuisance in the industrialized world, yet around the world it is a ruthless killer, spreading blood-borne diseases that bring about pain and suffering, particularly in developing nations.  In many regions these are invasive species with little to no ecological role. For years scientists have used “sterile insect technique” to control them, a process that treats sexually compatible insects with radiation, rendering them infertile.  The low-fertility insects are released into the wild and crash problematic populations. The Oxitec company has a genetic solution.  Mosquitoes have been genetically engineered to contain a lethal gene that can be turned off in the laboratory with a simple chemical.  Upon release, these mosquitoes breed against target populations, spreading the lethal gene, and leaving the next generation inviable.  The process creates a reproductive dead end.  While amazingly successful, these trials have suffered from a lack of public acceptance.  This week an article in Scientific Reports from a credible lab introduced language that bred fear, uncertainty and doubt in the Oxitec approach.  This unwarranted speculation was then amplified and exaggerated by the credulous anti-biotech media, further eroding public perception.  In this episode I spoke with Dr. Kelly Matsen, Research and Development and Operations lead at Oxitech.  She described the experiments in question, the actual results, the published paper, and how Oxitech’s technology actually has worked in field releases.The Oxitec Website Follow Oxitec on Twitter, @Oxitec Link to the EPA Public Comment Period on Mosquito Release# 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.

Dr. Elisabeth Bik is a hero. Classically trained with plenty of lab-bench expertise, today she patrols the best scientific literature in search for plagiarism and image manipulation.  Her expert eye identifies manipulated images in our best scientific publications, including the revered science weekly journals that present allegedly breakthrough work. Dr. Bik talks about her path to become a publication sleuth, a high-resolution machine with an eye for things that just don’t look right. She talks about her work, its repercussions and how pervasive plagiarism and image manipulation are in contemporary science.Please follow her on Twitter.  @MicrobiomDigest And her blog: Microbiome Digest # 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 HIV incidence has remained stable in the industrialized world, the virus is still transmitted in the Developing World.  The development of methods of prophylaxis are critical to disease containment, yet moving products into affected areas is not practical or affordable.  Dr. Evangelia Vamvaka was part of a team that placed anti-HIV proteins into rice.  The rice produced a transgenic protein that inhibited the virus, and did so with great efficacy in the presence of other compounds from the plant.  The rice can be ground to a powder and potentially be used as an HIV preventative wherever rice is grown. Co-hosted by Lethbridge Canada high school student Michelle Wu.The original paper in PNAS Follow Dr. Vamvaka on Twitter: @VamvakaEv# 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.