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Reposted by Andrew D Hanson

edmar-oliveira.bsky.social @edmar-oliveira.bsky.social · Jul 3

Excited to share the Hanson Lab’s @adhansonlab.bsky.social new preprint! We used OrthoRep to evolve Arabidopsis HDH, a short-lived enzyme, selecting variants with up to 20× higher abundance. Mutations boosted lifespan, catalytic efficiency, or inhibitor resistance.
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Jul 2

Well, the forceful, ongoing anti-GMO backlash set off by Monsanto’s messaging style (which in hindsight seems almost milquetoast compared to Palantir’s) doesn’t augur well…

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Jun 19

This is seriously mistaken as @Ignatzz.bsky.social says. Western science was basically born in the late medieval church (see e.g. the works of St. Albert the Great) & largely nourished by the church thereafter. And note that the Church of England honored Darwin’s work by burial in Westminster Abbey.

Ignatzzbsky.social

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Jun 14

Or any of these & more:
Rev.
Lt.
Capt.
Maj.
Col.
Gen.
All of which could be scientists or physicians in this day & age - & hence ordering mol biol reagents!

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Reposted by Andrew D Hanson

Victor de Lorenzo (CNB, Madrid) @vdlorenzo.bsky.social · Jun 1

Can biofuels replace fossil energy sources? A few calculations indicate otherwise 👉🏻 e360.yale.edu/features/cor.... Running numbers academic.oup.com/plphys/advan...) is the way to go. Things get worse with jet fuel (source @adhansonlab.bsky.social) 👇

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · May 27

“And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is (w)hol(l)y ground(less) (speculation)”

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · May 24

Journals are just part of a system that incentivizes overselling end-to-end. But, as gatekeepers on the final products, they have agency. An editorial policy of “It’s complicated” falls short. Journals can ask for field trials to be done right & interpreted prudently.

Nature Plants @natplants.nature.com · May 23

New Editorial: "Rethinking field trials" rdcu.be/enhFe

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Reposted by Andrew D Hanson

Mary Williams @PlantTeaching @plantteaching.bsky.social · May 20

Food Rx: Integrating horticulture research to improve nutrition and health.
A compelling perspective - the chronic health problems facing Americans require better access to affordable, nutritious fruits & vegetables! Yet the US greatly underproduces these healthy foods.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Left. Percentage of fruit and vegetable supply that is imported into the US. The trends for both fruit and veg show a steeply increasing curve, leading to 60% of fruit imported and 40% of veg. Right. Percentage of US cropland devoted to corn (30) soybean (30) wheat (15) and other (15), with fruits and vegetables being grown in only 10% of current cropland.

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Reposted by Andrew D Hanson

Victor de Lorenzo (CNB, Madrid) @vdlorenzo.bsky.social · May 20

Traditional wisdom tells us that healthy food, in particular fruits & veggies, is the best medicine. Here @adhansonlab.bsky.social elaborates an straightforward 1-stop resource for decision-makers & concerned citizens 👉🏻 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Food Rx: Integrating horticulture research to improve nutrition and health | PNAS

It is clear that the escalating epidemic of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes has reached a crisis level in the United States, that overweight...

www.pnas.org

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · May 17

Excellent reflection on #SynBio in a company context, and on the future of engineering biology.

Jake Wintermute @synbio1.bsky.social · May 16

If you want a short summary of everything I learned by studying the world’s premiere foundry for biology, check out Foundry Theory episode 50
foundrytheory.substack.com/p/three-less...

Three Lessons from a Year of Foundry Theory

After a year of studying and talking about the Ginkgo Bioworks foundry, I've learned at least 3 things.

foundrytheory.substack.com

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · May 14

Perhaps it fires the therapeutic ‘silver bullet’?

Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · May 11

It’s at least equally useful to know that around 1/2 the nitrogen in our DNA comes from the Haber-Bosch process & that 🇨🇳 is the world’s largest🍏 producer.

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · May 6

OrthoRep as a lab-scale sandbox to study molecular evolution ⬇️ Great to see directed evolution being connected with the vast field of evolutionary theory! Up to now, there’s been surprisingly little crossover between #SynBio and #Evolution.

Chang Liu @chang-c-liu.bsky.social · May 6

We’re excited to share new work on the continuous in vivo evolution of gene libraries towards arbitrary functions. Led by superstar Olek Pisera, our experiments show that gene evolution is highly versatile...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Rapid continuous evolution of gene libraries towards arbitrary functions

The emergence and evolution of new gene functions is central to biology, yet experimental tools that allow us to prospectively probe and understand this process are lacking. While systems for continuo...

www.biorxiv.org

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · May 4

I witnessed Margaret Thatcher’s downsizing of the world-class 🇬🇧 network of government ag research institutions in the 1980s. What were some of the best jobs for plant scientists just vanished. Since then I’ve always cautioned people against thinking that government science jobs are totally secure.

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 19

For an informative case of analysis (read: take-down) of a (biomedical) paper in real-time in social media, head over to X and search for LMHR. This case could stand as an example for teaching & I think it will likely be used this way in future.

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 17

Sin duda alguna!

Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 16

#SyntheticBiology postdoctoral position in our group in University of Florida's Horticultural Sciences department. Work is directed evolution to improve enzymes that underlie important crop traits ⬇️

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Reposted by Andrew D Hanson

Plant Physiology @plantphys.bsky.social · Apr 8

Vertical farming limitations and potential demonstrated by back-of-the-envelope calculations (Samuel J Lovat, Εlad Noor, Ron Milo) doi.org/10.1093/plph... #PlantScience

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 8

I 💯 endorse the CSPB/SCBV Annual Meetings as first-class science in a congenial & collegial environment!

Devang Mehta🌱🧬 @mehta-lab.com · Apr 8

#plantsci if you’re concerned about this (as I am) please consider @cspbscbv.bsky.social as an alternative to the annual ASPB meetings (ICAR in 🇧🇪 is already at full capacity). imo a much nicer (read: 🇨🇦 ) vibe too :)

Betsey Stevenson @betseystevenson.bsky.social · Apr 8

I just got a notice that an academic conference for 2026 was being moved from the US to Canada because of concerns people have with entering the US.
The cell phone searches and random detentions at the border are going to have long-term negative effects on the US.

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 8

Amen on both counts! Thank you Quentin & Kelly!

Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 8

This is analogous to 1930s German work to bring aurochs back from extinction by selectively breeding modern cattle that had some traits of the aurochs. The result was cattle that look like, but genetically are not, aurochs.
theconversation.com/the-quest-to...
time.com/7274542/colo...

The Return of the Dire Wolf

Colossal Biosciences has genetically engineered the first dire wolf to live in over 10,000 years. Here's what that means for other extinct species.

time.com

Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 7

It’s precisely the elegant simplicity of this piece that’s so compelling. Of course it doesn’t capture all the factors. But it transmits a scientifically defensible message that anyone can understand. We need more messaging like this if science is to be seen as serving everyone not just scientists.

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 7

On a per-cup basis, coffee requires almost 7.5 x the land area that tea does.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 7

Not German, but may be relevant:

“Queen siembra vientos, recoge tempestades”

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Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Apr 7

Yes, the planting density seemed OK but there was not enough information in the Methods or Fig. S12 to tell plot size, or whether guard rows were used.

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