When I was young my family ate a lot of Red Delicious apples. Some came out of my trusty lunchbox at school, some were straight from the refrigerator at home. The apples were big and eye-catching, but in my opinion they left something to be desired in their eating qualities. Still, they gave us a […]
Tiny Differences Help Scientists Take Giant Steps Forward Genetics has something in common with linguistics. If I say “po-tay-toe” and you say “po-tah-toe,” a linguist can begin to tell which part of the country each of us is from. To a linguist, a tiny difference in the pronunciation of a vowel acts as a kind […]
PULLMAN, Wash. – Unlocking the genetic and biochemical secrets of plants used for medicinal purposes could be easier in the future, thanks to new online databases funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences through the American Recovery and Re-investment Act. The three-year projects were funded as part of a $10 million initiative from […]
I spent this past summer trudging through six-mile treks each weekend with two good friends. We walked along the edge of wheat fields outside of town.
PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University researchers working on developing wheat varieties that grow under severe drought conditions — “desert wheat” — have earned a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
PROSSER, Wash. – Nnadozie Oraguzie, a senior scientist at New Zealand’s state-owned horticulture research institution, has assumed duties as stone fruit breeder-geneticist at the Washington State University Prosser Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center. He will focus on development of new sweet cherry varieties suited for production in the Pacific Northwest. “Dr. Oraguzie has an […]
PULLMAN, Wash. — Thomas E. Rinderer, research geneticist and research leader with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory in Baton Rouge, La., will deliver two lectures during the 11th annual E. Paul Catts Memorial Lecture Series on March 22 and 23. Rinderer will speak on “Africanized Honey Bees in the […]
PULLMAN, Wash. – Researchers at Washington State University and in the United Kingdom have announced a discovery that may someday allow the world’s farmers to decrease their dependence on nitrogen fertilizers, resulting in billions in savings to farmers and a reduction in the amount of nitrogen pollution that has already turned some waterways into dead […]
PULLMAN, Wash. — Crop breeders from North Carolina and California will discuss their work at the second Robert E. Allan Plant Breeding Symposium from 1:10 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, April 17, in room C107 of Johnson Hall at Washington State University. Jim Holland, a maize geneticist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service at North […]
PULLMAN, Wash. — Better apples, peaches, pears and cherries at market sooner. That is one benefit of research by Washington State University bioinformaticist Dorrie Main. Piece by piece, Main is mapping the DNA mosaic of the rosaceous family, which includes Washington’s largest crop – apples – and other tree fruit as well as cherries, peaches, […]