In this episode, Bart and I invited Ph.D. candidate Daniela Buchwald from the German Primate Center. We compare how the University of Göttingen and the German Primate Center responded to the impending shutdown of most research activities – with a focus on how the animals are being cared for.

The conversation was recorded on Tuesday, March 17, just after the German local government began to take serious action to reduce public life in order to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Remember, that when we talk about news reaching us on Monday, we mean “yesterday” at the time of recording.

https://www.scienceforprogress.eu/44-green-biotechnology-with-david-spencer/

Dennis’s guest for this episode is David Spencer, a researcher in plant physiology and phytopathology in Germany. In his Ph.D., David uses genetic engineering to fortify soybeans against fungal infection. They explain why we need more resilient crops fast, why this would be great for the environment, and how genetic engineering can help achieve this.

The episode complements the previous one (extended throwback with Hélène Pidon) which focused on explaining different breeding methods and how artificially induced mutations compare to naturally occurring ones.