Kevin Folta

In this episode of the Talking Biotech podcast, Dr. Kevin Folta discusses the current state of avian influenza, particularly the H5N1 strain, its history, zoonotic potential, and the implications for both poultry and human health. Into 2025 it was being detected in wild birds,domestic flocks, cattle and humans. Where did it go? He highlights the importance of surveillance, the impact of the virus on domestic poultry production, and the ethical concerns surrounding euthanization methods. Folta also explores potential solutions, including vaccination and transgenic strategies that go unused although they are known to be effective. Finally, what is the status of emergency response? The strategic stockpiles are gone, new mRNA strategies have been defunded. With no desire to protect animals and government policy failing to take precautions to protect humans, an avian influenza pandemic may be devastating. The current situation is discussed.

In this conversation, Dr. Kevin Folta and Vance Crowe discuss the evolving landscape of agriculture communication, the rise of pseudoscience, and the cultural shifts affecting public trust in science. Vance shares his journey from working at Monsanto to founding Legacy Interviews, emphasizing the importance of capturing personal stories. They explore the challenges posed by influencers spreading misinformation about food safety and the implications of legal battles surrounding glyphosate. The discussion highlights the need for effective communication strategies in the face of growing skepticism towards scientific consensus. In this conversation, Vance Crowe and Kevin Folta discuss the evolving narrative surrounding glyphosate and its implications for agriculture. They explore the shift in public perception from anti-GMO sentiments to a focus on glyphosate litigation, the complexities of scientific communication, and the erosion of trust in institutions. The discussion highlights the challenges faced by the agricultural sector in light of potential chemical bans and the importance of rebuilding faith in science and its communicators.

Episode 300 is guest-hosted by Ally Kennedy. She interviews Dr. Kevin Folta about the obstacles to communicating science over the last decade. From a libelous piece in the New York Times, to coordinated smear campaigns, and a university’s rejection of academic freedom, they discuss the details of these events and their impact on Folta’s ag/science communication efforts. It is an eye-opening discussion of the battles faced for stepping into a public discussion, along with the personal and professional consequences of being effective and showing leadership. The take home message is a positive one, and affirms why we all need to be participating in teaching and correcting poor information, particularly in social media space. # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.

At its core, gene editing works to break gene function by creating errors in a DNA sequence at a specific location. The process works by creating a precise cut that is repaired by the cell’s repair mechanisms, and those processes can be error prone. Those errors are the basis of the gene’s disruption. But in a population of cells, how do you account for and catalog all of the changes? Kevin Bloh is a research associate and a Ph.D. student with Christiana Care / University of Delaware. He describes computational tool that help define the variation around gene edited sites. The new tools help refine cells possibly destined for research or therapeutic applications. DECODR software link. www.decordr.org # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.

This week’s guest is the host! It was important to discuss communication tips during a pandemic, especially around popular myths and news stories involving COVID19. Kevin Folta provides counterarguments to today’s most prevalent claims around hydroxychloroquine, disease incidence, and the flu shot. It also marks five years since the New York Times story that portrayed Folta as a corporate patsy. While many aspects of his research and communications efforts thrive today, this deliberate act of cancel-culture now diminishes his impact in other arenas, such as discussing COVID19. This is a rallying cry for more scientists and science enthusiasts to engage the public with science communication. # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.

Florida is the canary in the coalmine for mosquito-transmitted disease in the USA. The Florida Keys are especially vulnerable. Traffic through this sensitive string of islands allows infected insects to be rapidly vectored to other areas of the keys, as well as to the mainland. Over the last decade there have been notable incidents of Zika, Chikunguna, Denge and other mosquito-borne diseases. Over the same time a self-limiting mosquito technology has been developed by Oxitec. The mosquitoes have been programmed with genetic changes that render the next generation unable to develop, and it has been extremely successful in Brazil and other locations. The technology is now poised for release in the keys and has received all needed approvals. Today’s podcast speaks with Meredith Fensom, the Head of Global Public Affairs with Oxitec. She discusses the technology, the release in Florida, and its potential risks and benefits. Here’s Oxitec’s website for the Florida Keys — There are MANY resources here on this page, too much to list. If you have questions you’ll find an answer here. And of course, I’m always glad to answer your questions. - Kevin # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.

Penguins are charismatic, flightless, diving birds. While typically associated only with Antarctica, their center of origin, radiation and speciation has been widely debated. Dr. Juliana Vianna is part of an Antarctica Genomics Group at the Catholic University of Chile. Her team has analyzed the genomes of penguins and compared it against other data, including the fossil record. They have provided new information to inform our understanding of the evolution and distribution of this interesting group of birds. Follow Dr. Vianna on Twitter here. @Ju_A_Vianna Link to the paper in PNAS # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.

Most experts agree that the COVID19 pandemic will not end until a vaccine is available. But traditionally, vaccines take a decade to develop and test. The crisis has ignited efforts from over 130 companies, all racing to develop vaccines to render the population immune to the virus. One exciting new development is the mRNA vaccine, a case where humans are injected with the genetic material of the virus, that ignites an immune response. The advantage of these vaccines is that they are easy to manufacture and quick to test. Boston Magazine Senior Editor Catherine Elton has followed the development of these vaccines, particularly from the company Moderna. They moved from RNA sequence to human trials in only 43 days demonstrating the speed by which these new strategies may be employed. We discuss the discoveries and the regulatory hurdles, along with public perception in what appears to be a rapid way to immunize large populations. # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.

A number of strange, devastating and lethal diseases are caused by prions. The most famous of these disorders in animals is Bovine Spongiform Encelapathy, or “Mad Cow Disease”. Unlike other infectious agents like viruses, bacteria or fungi, prion-based diseases are caused by a misfolding of proteins resident in the body. Essentially, this is your own chemistry turning against itself. In this week’s podcast I speak with Dr. Cassandra Terry from London Metropolitan University. She speaks about prion related diseases, their causes, and how what is learned from prions has illuminated an understanding of other complex neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson Disease. # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.

Male cattle (bulls) convert feed calories to weight gain more efficiently than females (cows). If more bulls could be put into beef production, the process would be even more sustainable. Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam and her research team attempted a clever trick to skew the ratio of males to females in cattle offspring. Sex determination in mammals is driven mostly by a single gene on the Y chromosome. So what if this gene was duplicated elsewhere in the genome? Using CRISPR gene editing, this is exactly what they did. “Cosmo” the bull should produce 75% male offspring. Dr. Van Eenennaam talks about the gene, its mechanism of action, the process of editing a bull’s genome, and the regulatory climate around gene-edited beef. Dr. Van Eenennaam on Twitter: @Biobeef Dr. Van Eenennaam’s website here. # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.

In 2001 the Earth Liberation Front bombed the office of Dr. Toby Bradshaw at the University of Washington. The damage was massive, especially toward non-targeted labs. This is a great story of how misguided activism can have damaging collateral effects, and work against the efforts of scientists that are performing great work for people and a planet. # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.

Most organisms on earth evolved under constant intervals of light and darkness. The regular intervals led to the evolution of internal clocks that are trained by the light/dark patterns, and condition responses from gene expression to higher physiology and morphology. Dr. Eva Farre of Michigan State University has a notable career in circadian rhythm research in plants. Today she joins the podcast to discuss the value of an internal oscillator to fitness, trait presentation and domestication. We also discuss the fundamental nature of chemistry that controls timing. Co-hosted by Michigan State University graduate student Miles Roberts. # COLABRA Talking 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 BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The 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.