Friday’s Elk, July 29, 2018

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen
The Past and Future of Genetic Modification

A number of scientists hope that GM foods can be part of the solution to feeding the world, as the population grows and climate change puts crops under stress. But GM crops also inspire fierce opposition, because many people worry that they may be harmful to the environment or human health.

In the past few years, scientists have begun using CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies to alter the DNA of crops. This week, the top court in the European Union ruled that these crops should be considered GMOs, and thus be subject to the same tight regulations that cover crops produced by older methods. Except for methods that are really old… Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, July 29, 2018” →

What Is a Genetically Modified Crop? A European Ruling Sows Confusion

Posted on by Zimmer

The New York Times, July 27, 2018

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Mushrooms that don’t brown. Wheat that fights off disease. Tomatoes with a longer growing season.

All of these crops are made possible by a gene-editing technology called Crispr-cas9. But now its future has been clouded by the European Union’s top court.

This week, the court ruled that gene-edited crops are genetically modified organisms, and therefore must comply with the tough regulations that apply to plants made with genes from other species.

Continue reading “What Is a Genetically Modified Crop? A European Ruling Sows Confusion” →

Years of Education Influenced by Genetic Makeup, Enormous Study Finds

Posted on by Zimmer

The New York Times, July 23, 2018

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In the largest genetics study ever published in a scientific journal, an international team of scientists on Monday identified more than a thousand variations in human genes that influence how long people stay in school.

Educational attainment has attracted great interest from researchers in recent years, because it is linked to many other aspects of people’s lives, including their income as adults, overall health and even life span.

The newly discovered gene variants account for just a fraction of the differences in education observed between groups of people. Environmental influences, which may include family wealth or parental education, together play a bigger role.

Continue reading “Years of Education Influenced by Genetic Makeup, Enormous Study Finds” →

Friday’s Elk, July 20, 2018

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen
Tune In!

1. This afternoon, I’ll be on Science Friday starting about 3 pm ET. Ira Flatow and I will talk about She Has Her Mother’s Laugh. Catch us on the radio, or listen live online.

2. If you want to catch me in pixel form, I’ll be on BookTV on C-SPAN on Sunday at 5 pm ET. They’ll be broadcasting a recent conversation I had at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with anthropologist Chip Colwell in front of a live audience.

3. The Aspen Ideas Festival posted the audio of the book talk I gave for them last month. Listen here. Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, July 20, 2018” →

Friday’s Elk, July 13, 2018

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen
When Did People Leave Africa?

We know that our ancestors diverged from other apes in Africa. And for millions of years that’s where they remained. But at some point hominins expanded to other continents, in a series of waves that included our own species roughly 70,000 years ago.

When was the first trip out? The clearest answer to that question would come from skeletons. The oldest skeletons of hominins yet found outside of Africa are about 1.7 million years old, found in the republic of Georgia. But this week, a team of researchers who have worked for years digging into a giant gulley in China, say they have found tools as old as 2.1 million years. Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, July 13, 2018” →