Features

science-in-our-food

The Science in Our Food

39 North Innovation District Plan Unveiled

Nigel Taylor, Ph.D.

For small holder farmers and their families in sub-Saharan Africa, food security is affected by drought, crop diseases, poor soils and access
to modern technology.  We need to secure people’s access to food
in a sustainable way so they can develop economically.

Lab News

Tuesday, 25 September 2018

Meet the New Principal Investigators at the Danforth Center

Strategic New Hires Strengthen Research, Education and Expertise
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Thursday, 26 October 2017

(St. Louis Public Radio) In a race to prevent hunger, Danforth researchers use CRISPR to gene-edit cassava

To prove that a new-gene editing technology could be used to alter the cassava plant, scientists in the St. Louis suburbs zeroed in on a gene used to process chlorophyll. Before long, they had petri dishes full of seedlings that were white as chalk.
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Tuesday, 17 October 2017

DuPont Pioneer and Danforth Center Collaborate to Apply Cutting-edge Technologies to Improve Crops for Smallholder Farmers

The suite of technologies DuPont Pioneer is providing to the project is revolutionary
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Monday, 11 September 2017

TechAccel Invests in Unique Sprayable RNAi Pesticide Technology

First “Path to Commercialization” Grant Awarded to Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
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Thursday, 29 December 2016

(St. Louis Public Radio) Danforth Center receives funding to expand cassava project to Nigeria

Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center say a $10.45 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will allow them to expand a project to develop genetically modified cassava into Nigeria.
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Thursday, 29 December 2016

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Danforth Center receives Gates Foundation grant to advance cassava research in Africa

Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have secured a multimillion-dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which they say could help save a staple crop in Africa from steadily encroaching disease.
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Thursday, 01 December 2016

St. Louis Health and Environment Reporter Travels to Africa to Gain Insight into Challenges Facing African Farmers and the Potential Impact of Agriculture Research

Scientists are developing an improved cassava that will allow communities to produce more food and income from cassava farming.
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Tuesday, 25 October 2016

Plant Pulse

The Plant Pulse is a feature of the Danforth Center Roots and Shoots Blog that includes a sampling of interesting stories about agriculture, the environment, food security, climate change, bioenergy, events and the impact of plant science.
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Thursday, 13 October 2016

(St. Louis Public Radio) East African Farmers Consider Genetic Modification of Food Security Crops to Avoid Shortages

Jude Aleu, a cassava safety manager for Uganda’s National Crops Resources Research Institute, is working with scientists from the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to test cassava plants that are genetically modified to resist disease in a project called VIRCA — Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa. 
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Tuesday, 04 October 2016

(St. Louis Public Radio) In Uganda, Cassava is a Staple in Times of Insecurity | Part 2

For Ugandans, the starchy tuber is more than a staple food crop. It helped people survive many years of war.
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Thursday, 22 September 2016

(St. Louis Public Radio) Danforth Center Collaborative Research Project Aims to Reduce Hunger in Developing World | Part 1

In many parts of East and Central Africa, farmers are experiencing declining yields of cassava due to brown streak virus, a plant disease that can render a crop inedible.
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Tuesday, 10 May 2016

(NTV Weekend) Disease Resistant Cassava, (East African) Diseases Pose Threats to Cassava Production

From Kenya, recent national news coverage of virus resistant cassava being developed and tested in the field by our VIRCA partners.
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Monday, 25 April 2016

Events and Accolades Mark the Dedication of the William H. Danforth Wing

Earlier this month, the Danforth Center celebrated its biggest milestone since the opening of the initial building in 2001.
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Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Scientist Honored with Award from First World Congress

Congratulations, Dr. Narayanan!
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Tuesday, 23 February 2016

From Lab to Field – Improving a Major Staple Crop for Food Security

Roots & Shoot’s guest blogger discusses the process a single cell goes through from the tissue culture lab to the cassava fields. 
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Monday, 18 January 2016

​(CBS Sunday Morning) Digging for Seeds of Truth in GMO Debate

By some estimates, 80 percent of all processed foods -- cereals, baby formula, canned soups and more -- contain at least one GMO, or Genetically Modified Organism. But whether GMOs are safe and whether they should be listed on the label has led to a very big food fight.
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Monday, 28 December 2015

Improving Crops With RNAi

RNA interference is proving to be a valuable tools for agriculture, allowing researchers to develop pathogen-resistant and more-nutritious crops. 
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Tuesday, 10 November 2015

Research Institute to Improve Crop Productivity in the Developing World

Science improving food security with collaboration.
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Monday, 20 July 2015

(The Scientist) Improving Crops with RNAi

Nigel Taylor, senior research scientist and Narender Nehra, director of regulatory affairs in the Institute for International Crop Improvement (IICI) co-authored this article about how RNA interference is proving to be a valuable tool for agriculture, allowing researchers to develop pathogen-resistant and more-nutritious crops.
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Tuesday, 28 October 2014

(National Geographic) The Next Green Revolution

Modern supercrops will be a big help. But agriculture can’t be fixed by biotech alone.
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