Science Allies - Biotechnology, Agriculture, Ecology, Health, and Critical Thinking
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
NextGen Cassava breeders leading the way Part 2
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nextgencassava.org
NextGen Cassava breeders leading the way Part 1
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
nextgencassava.org
Pablo Oroczo - Policy Matters for Biotechnology
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pablo is the Alliance for Science’s Global Policy Lead and a member of the training team. He has a background in international trade and aid law, as...
Kasanda Bunda - Climate change adaptaion and green economy in Zambia
31 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kasanda Bunda is the Principal Officer for climate change adaptation, Zambia Ministry of Green Economy and Environment.
Sarah Ngweya
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Ochugboju speaks to Sarah Ngweya
Riaz Mulla - Food Secure Africa
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Riaz Mulla is the executive Director of Food Secure Africa https://foodsecureafrica.org
Dr. Prakash Channa - Training scientists from underrepresented communities
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Channa S. Prakash is a Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Tuskegee University (USA) where he has served as faculty since 1989, and ...
Arif Hossain - Grassroots science communication efforts in Bangladesh
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Arif Hossain is the executive director of the Dhaka-based Farming Future Bangladesh and a Visiting Fellow at Cornell University. Earlier, he worked fo...
Ronnie Coffman - Looking Back on a career of crop improvement
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For over 40 years, Dr. Ronnie Coffman has indefatigably empowered remarkable cadres of people in the pursuit of better lives for people in some of the...
Food security: Ghanaian scientists on the cutting edge
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ghana is one of the African countries working to improve food security and agricultural sustainability through scientific research and innovation. A n...
Dr. Sarah Evanega - Amplifying a global village of science communicators
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah received her PhD in the field of plant biology from Cornell University in 2009, for which she conducted an interdisciplinary study combining wor...
Is Kenya ready for gene editing technology and products?
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kenya is one of the African countries gearing up with research on gene edited crops to boost food security. Among the many gene-edited products ...
New Generation GMOs: The incredible purple tomato
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Biotechnology is a powerful tool that is starting to be used for enhancing the nutritional content of fruits and vegetables. One of the first of these...
GM crops: Upending the agroecology rhetoric
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
According to a recent critique published in Scientific American magazine, “GM crops are rooted in a colonial-capitalist model of agriculture b...
The future faces of gene editing in agriculture
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Global climate change, rapid population growth and shifting diets are creating intense pressures on agricultural systems. The recent advent &nbs...
AfS Live - Consequences of restricting GM crops in Mexico
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mexican farmers, scientists and consumers are facing the uncertain implications of a new national policy banning the import and cultivation of g...
UN Food Systems Summit Dialogue: What Role Will Gene Edited Foods Play in Addressing Nutritional Insecurity?
25 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nutritional insecurity is a pressing topic around the globe. Some nations struggle with widespread lack of access to nutritious foods and the related ...
Breeding better bananas for a richer, food secure Africa
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In East African countries, bananas are an important staple food and cash crop. However, most of the East African bananas are susceptible to pests and ...
Gene Editing: A New Era for Agriculture Research in Africa
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
African scientists across the continent are hopeful that gene editing is a tool that can support Africa’s food security by helping to increase crop ...
Food Systems Summit Dialogue: Role of Ag Biotech in Transforming Food Systems
28 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The UN Special Envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit has invited all sectors of society to share their perspectives and solutions. Independent Food S...
Engineering Biological Nitrogen Fixation - A Dream for Sustainable Agriculture
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ray Dixon is a microbiologist at the John Innes Centre in the UK. He’s currently the Co-Director JIC-CAS Centre of Excellence in Plant and Microbial...
GM crops and the global divide
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Unfounded concerns about genetically modified (GM) crops have inhibited their uptake in many African countries, resulting in major impacts on agricult...
Seeds: Who should decide what farmers grow?
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
April 26 is celebrated both as International Seed Day and the United Nation’s World Intellectual Property Day. It’s the perfect time to talk ...
Digital agriculture: Harnessing data for global development
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Autonomous drones buzz overhead, creating detailed maps of canopy temperatures. Tree-mounted sensors measure drought stress in orchards in real-time. ...
Using earth data to inform policy in African agriculture
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How can data influence decisions by smallholder farmers, as well as policy? Join AfS’ Patricia Nanteza as she talks with Dr. Catherine Nakalembe, th...
AfS Live - Seeds of Mentorship: Davies Korboe on empowering Ghana's youth in agribusiness
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Davies Korboe is a mango farmer and youth agribusiness advocate from Somanya in Southern Ghana . While some folks flock to cities for opportunity in t...
Chat with Ghanaian scientist Samuel Acheampong on beta carotene enhanced sweet potato
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alliance for Science correspondent Joseph Opoku Gakpo will speak with Ghanaian scientist Samuel Acheampong of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Joi...
Agroecology in Africa: Opportunities, Constraints, Prospects and Limitations
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The webinar will discuss the opportunities, constraints, prospects and limitations of agroecology in Africa. It will explore exactly what agroecology ...
Africa's lagging Covid 19 vaccine rollout as deaths spike - Dr Michael Owusu
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Joseph Opoku speaks with Dr Michael Owusu, clinical microbiologist and lecturer at the Department of Medical Diagnostics, Kwame Nkrumah Universi...
Gene editing - Developments in Latin America
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Latin America is a vast region with tremendous biodiversity as well as a growing population that needs to be fed. Yet 25 years after genetic engineeri...
Cassava: Food security and household incomes
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In late 2020, Nigeria released five new cassava varieties in Nigeria. Their names indicate their attributes for the farmer, cook or consumer: Game-Cha...
Emerging global challenges in agriculture and environment — Colin Christensen, One Acre Fund, Mohammed Arif, Farming Future Bangladesh
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What challenges in global food systems, agriculture and the environment will the incoming Biden administration inherit? What opportunities for impact ...
OGMs en Latino América: Presente, Pasado y Futuro
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Latino América es una región rica en biodiversidad y contrastes. Países con el más alto nivel de producción de OGMs en el mundo coexisten con paí...
Hawaii papaya - First public sector GMO crop
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Using the tools of biotechnology, Cornell University researcher Dennis Gonsalves, now retired, bred a papaya resistant to the destructive ringspot vir...
Black and female in science
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is it like to be a black woman scientist? Do they feel invincible, less than their colleagues or like they belong? Are they in a constant battle ...
Bt cowpea – A GMO first in Africa
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the fourth of our “GMO firsts” series we discuss insect-resistant (Bt) cowpea — the first genetically modified (GM) food crop unique to Afric...
AquAdvantage salmon: First GMO food animal
27 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the third of our “GMO firsts” series we discuss the AquAdvantage salmon — the world’s first and only genetically modified animal approved f...
Bt brinjal (eggplant) – A GMO first in South Asia
21 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the inaugural session of our “GMO Firsts” series, Tony Shelton of Cornell University and Arif Hossain of Farming Future Bangladesh takes us dow...
American chestnut: Saving an iconic tree
02 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. William (Bill) Powell, director of the American Chestnut Research & Restoration Project at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry,...
Agroecology: What is it, anyway?
02 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The term agroecology is being used increasingly often, but what exactly does it mean? Is it a science, a system, a practice, a movement, an ideology o...
COVID vaccine: What’s at stake for Africa?
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Prof. Shabir A. Madhi, professor of vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and Dr. Michael Owusu, a clinical ...
What influences technology adoption in Africa?
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), an Alliance for Science partner, leads this discussion on technology adoption in Africa. Dr. Mu...
Burkina Faso and the end of BT cotton (en Français)
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Eliane Bayala, a 2019 AfS Global Leadership Fellow and assistant coordinator at the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) Burkina Faso, team...
Africa: Agriculture and food security in the COVID-19 era
04 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows Evans Okomeng (Ghana) and Alfred Namaasa (Uganda) discuss how COVID-19 is impacting agriculture and foo...
COVID-19 in Africa: Myths, truth and re-opening
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Mercy Korir, a medical journalist with KTN News in Kenya, teams up with Dr. Wilson Winstons Muhwezi, associate professor of behavioral sciences an...
Hydroponics – Farming Without Soil
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Prof. Trevor Charles, chief science officer of Metagenom Bio and director of Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, discusses what he sees as the fut...
Mujeres en ciencia
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
En esta sesión vamos a conversar con mujeres empoderadas en la ciencia que compartirán experiencias ejemplares en la constante búsqueda de la equid...
Food and nutrition security during the global pandemic
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Abebe Menkir has been breeding maize for over 20 years. He currently heads the maize breeding department at CGIAR-IITA. Menkir talks to Patricia Nante...
Africa's women farmers: Innovating in the time of COVID
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Four African women farmers discuss the innovative measures they are using to get their crops to the public despite Africa's lockdowns and travel restr...
Conspiracy Theories in the Time of COVID
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bright Simons, founder and president of mPedigree; Whitney Phillips, Syracuse University; Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol; Joanne Miller, U...
Top 5 Most Promising COVID-19 Vaccine Projects
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
More than 100 vaccine efforts are currently underway in the global push to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. Whi...
Navigating the new USDA rule on genetic engineering
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Biotech policy expert Greg Jaffe explains the new US Department of Agriculture rule on genetic engineering and answers questions about the topic in th...
Brazil, COVID and the rise of anti-science sentiment
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Natalia Pasternak, director of Instituto Questão de Ciência (Question of Science Institute) — Brazil’s first institute to promote skepticism and...
AfS Live: Africa Reports on COVID, Conspiracies and Crops
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this live webinar recorded on June 15, 2020, three Alliance for Science correspondents — Nkechi Isaac, Joseph Opoku Gakpo and Verenardo Meeme —...