genetic engineering

Chris Mason is back on the program for our end-of-year special. He’s Professor of Genomics, Physiology, and Biophysics at Weill Cornell School of Medicine and the author of such an outstanding book that we had to have him on the program a second time this year. Called The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds, the book delivers on its title.

Chris was deeply influenced by a book of Isaac Asimov he received at the age of 15 from his parents, writing that this book “never left his head.” Join us as he shares the haunting idea he received from Asimov, his ethical and philosophical positions, as well as the outline of his plan for the next 500 years—and a lot of other scientific tidbits. Any takers for chloroskin? The book serves as a summary of Chris’s years in the field of genomics—a basic biology textbook—as well as a passionate plea to take our common future—what for some of us seems a very distant future but for Chris can seem to be moments away—more seriously.

Happy Winter Solstice, fellow Earthlings!

After the summer break, Nathan and Laura, stir from their beach slumbers, to again offer their anything but sleepy opinions on the latest genomics headlines.

Guests:

Eric Rey, CEO, Arcadia Biosciences

Listen (6:46) Nitrogen Use Efficiency

Listen (6:38) Where are you finding commercial success?

Listen (2:14) Tilling - a non transgenic platform

Listen (5:43) Best PR comes from being open and honest

Listen (2:05) Understanding GM backlash

Listen (6:13) Food labeling

Arcadia Biosciences is a company in Davis, California that has been developing GM (genetically modified) plants for farmers for over ten years. Their lead product, NUE or nitrogen use efficiency, has been licensed out to agricultural partners around the world. Arcadia CEO, Eric Rey, joins us to explain where the company has found success in those ten years. He discusses Arcadia's science, their business model, and insists the best strategy for overcoming the challenge of GM backlash is in being "as open and honest as possible."

Some of the strongest resistance to genetically modifying crops comes from Eric's home turf, Berkeley, California, which he's quick to remind us is "not the bastion of conservative thinking." Eric finds it ironic that those who are willing to consider the facts about climate change have a hard time doing the same about the GM products his company is producing. Concluding the interview, Eric takes on the recent political push to require labeling for GM foods.

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