WELCOME!
We’re glad that you’re…On the Vine!

Welcome to the first issue of “On the Vine,” the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center’s new online newsletter! Each month “On the Vine” will bring you plant science highlights from the Danforth Center and beyond, updates on Center events, and interesting insights into all manner of matters related to members of the Kingdom Plantae!

A new Web feature is coming soon – Where in the World is Roger Beachy? – a special blog following our tireless president as he travels the globe, advancing plant science and the mission of the Danforth Center.

We hope that you will find “On the Vine” a useful and informative addition to the Danforth Center’s publications, including the quarterly print newsletter The Leaflet. To ensure you continue to receive all Danforth Center publications and invitations, use the link at the bottom of the page to verify your contact information. And please send your thoughts, comments, and questions to onthevine@danforthcenter.org.

In the news

	Greenhouse II Groundbreaking
Danforth Center President, Dr. Roger Beachy, and Chairman, Dr. William H. Danforth, were joined by representatives of state and local government as well as Monsanto and Enterprise-Rent-A-Car to break ground for the new Danforth Center Greenhouse. To read the press release, click HERE.
	Danforth Investigator Receives Grant for Collaboration with Scientists in Israel
The St. Louis Jewish Light recently ran a front-page story on a new collaborative research project between Danforth Center Principle Investigator Dr. Daniel Schachtman and scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. To view the article, click HERE.
	‘Green Revolution’ Founder Wins Congressional Medal
Dr. Norman Borlaug earned the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his work in the fight against hunger. A Nobel Prize and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, he is one of only five people to receive all three awards. To read more about Dr. Borlaug, Danforth Center Distinguished Service honoree, click HERE.
	Center-Associated Biotech Lab Development Announced
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently announced that Wexford Science + Technology LLC was pursuing the development of a new ‘biobelt’ facility adjacent to the Danforth Center. To read the article from the Post-Dispatch, click HERE.
	NBC Affiliate Features Howard Buffett-Danforth Center Project
St. Louis’ KSDK recently profiled Howard G. Buffett’s $3 million grant to the Danforth Center to study sweet potato for Africa. To view, click HERE.

Center Spotlight

	Philanthropist, Photographer Howard Buffett Visits Danforth Center
Renaissance philanthropist and environmentalist Howard Buffett, a man with a gift for telling a story in words and pictures, shared both during his recent visit to the Danforth Center. To learn more about Howard Buffett, his impressive work, as well as his generous support of the Center, click HERE.
	Danforth Center Building Profiled for “Green” Labs
The Scientist magazine recently profiled the Danforth Center and several other regional buildings in an article on “green” lab spaces. To read more, click HERE.
	Grants for Plants!
Support from Center Friends is critical to keep the Danforth Center running, but Danforth Center scientists must raise their own funds to support their research and their laboratories with scientific grants. The list of recent awards indicates their success in securing funds from a variety of sources for a collection of cutting edge projects in a competitive intellectual and financial environment. For a complete list of support earned by Danforth Center scientists so far this year, click HERE.

In case you missed it...

	Conversations Series Explores Nutritional Content of Food
	Danforth Principal Investigator Dr. Daniel Schachtman was joined by Dr. Mark Manary, a physician at the Washington University School of Medicine, for a discussion on increasing the nutritional content of food. Follow up on the conversation HERE.
	The Eyes Have It!: D2 in 3D Event at Plaza Frontenac Takes Danforth Science to Another Dimension
	The Danforth Center recently teamed with Plaza Frontenac to display a collection of 3D scientific images created by Center scientist, Dr. Howard Berg. To view coverage of the exhibit and event, click HERE and HERE!
	Center Scientists Complete “allsevens” Ride for Africa
	Though scandal plagued the 2007 Tour de France, Danforth Center scientists on the allsevens cycling team finished their Tour prologue ride without incident, raising over $30,000 for Africa. To read about their epic trip, click HERE.

Upcoming Events

For more information, email development@danforthcenter.org

	Monday, September 24 – Plantasia
Danforth Society members are invited to celebrate our Center and the contributions of those who’ve made it possible, our 2007 Danforth Center Service and Science Award winners – Mr. Oliver Langenberg and Dr. Robb Fraley, respectively.
	Thursday, November 1 – Conversations “Close Up” with Richard and Susan Kiphart (Note new date and time!)
Join us as Richard and Susan Kiphart tell their personal story of commitment to the people of Africa, reflected through their own efforts and Mr. Kiphart’s leadership role of DATA (Debt AIDS Trade Africa) alongside Bono and others. Originally scheduled for November 5, this special event will now begin at 3:30 pm on November 1.

Plant Facts

	DID YOU KNOW?
According to Bob Grant’s article on green labs in the June 2007 issue of The Scientist, chemical fume hoods can be one of the biggest energy drains in traditional laboratories. OTV sat down with Howard Beittenmiller, Director of Facilities and Support Services at the Danforth Center, to find out more about fume hoods. For more information about chemical fume hoods – and other varieties of biological safety cabinets – what they are, what they do, and how they figure into research at the Center, click HERE.
	GOING GREEN…
The laboratory of Danforth Principal Investigator Dr. Ed Cahoon was recently dedicated as the Margaret S. and Blanton J. Whitmire Laboratory.  The Whitmires appreciated the work Danforth Center scientists like Dr. Cahoon were doing to produce safer, more nutritious pest- and disease-resistant crops as well as the resonance of these advances with Mr. Whitmire's legacy of emphasizing natural products and revolutionary methods of pesticide-application during his years in the Pest Control Industry.
	To read the profile of the Whitmires and their support of the Danforth Center from the August issue of The Leaflet, click HERE.
	To visit Dr. Ed Cahoon’s website, click HERE.
	To learn more about purchasing or making your own natural insecticides, check out the following websites: www.planetnatural.com or www.eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm