Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Sep 5

For a short biography of Dr. Hanson, visit x.com/cvoiniciuc/s...

Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Sep 5

With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Dr. Andrew Hanson, C.V. Griffin Sr. Eminent Scholar in the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida. To participate in a video montage honoring Dr. Hanson, please record & share a memory by Sept 9: ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Jun 24

I am pleased to welcome Dr. Yiping Qi for tomorrow's ASHS Webinar (3 pm Eastern) on enhancing plant transformation and genome editing. The webinar is open to all (not only society members), but registration is required: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · May 26

The #Glyco27 meeting, jointly organized with the 8th Canadian Glycomics Symposium, is off to a great start at the Edmonton Convention Center. Eric Martens showed compelling evidence on the importance of plant dietary fibers for gut health www.glyco27.org

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Apr 11

A multidisciplinary group, including NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky, gathered yesterday to discuss AI in Biodiversity: from remote sensing of tree canopy to semi-automated bioengineering of plant enzymes ai.research.ufl.edu/ai-in-biodiv... Inspiring talks all around!

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Apr 9

This week, we celebrate our national champions 🏀 and our incredible Gator Grads 👩‍🔬 👨‍🔬

Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Apr 8

Quentin Dudley's UF SynBio Webinar on engineering plant metabolic pathways was outstanding. dudleylab.che.wisc.edu/home/ A big thank you to Kelly Balmant for organizing this event.

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Mar 3

Three days of engaging Plant Synthetic Biology discussions from sunrise to sunset. More avenues are needed to connect academic researchers, industry and government representatives and to support multidisciplinary efforts that bring new ideas and products to market.

Andrew D Hanson @adhansonlab.bsky.social · Mar 3

🙏 NSF for supporting @uf-ifas.bsky.social / UF Horticultural Sciences' trailblazing workshop 'How SynBio can *realistically* impact crop improvement & agriculture'! We brought🌱 SynBio ECRs together w/ top ag biotech & crop breeding experts to identify disconnects btwn their worlds & how to fix them⬇️

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Jan 21

The 9th Annual Plant Science Symposium started with a bold talk from Rob Ferl https://buff.ly/3PLBvpE Up next, Sue Rhee from Michigan State University.

2025 Plant Science Symposium | ufplants

Join us for the 9th Annual Plant Science Symposium, a free two-day event in Gainesville, FL. Virtual participation available!

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Jan 10

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Florida universities unite to propel space exploration
https://buff.ly/40D7sXD An agreement to propel important collaborations, including plant research

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Florida universities unite to propel space exploration

<p>NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is entering a new era of collaboration that will propel the nation’s space exploration by leveraging the world-class expertise at three Florida…

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Jan 8

Early career scientists, there's only one week left to apply for the NSF-sponsored Plant Synthetic Biology workshop at UF. https://buff.ly/3ZEzv8i Don't miss out on the opportunity to share your knowledge, learn from leading experts and network with fellow scientists.

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Dec 16

A scary look in the mirror https://buff.ly/3ZT86jg based on a discussion of how bacterial molecules with reversed chirality could evade immune detection https://buff.ly/4iqBu7A

A ‘Second Tree of Life’ Could Wreak Havoc, Scientists Warn (Gift Article)

Research on so-called mirror cells, which defy fundamental properties of living organisms, should be prohibited as too dangerous, biologists said.

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Dec 13

Our latest perspective explores the roles of glycosyl hydrolases in plant biology and how they can be improved to improve crops or biomass conversion for the circular bioeconomy: https://buff.ly/4g7MyFd #PlantScience #Bioeconomy #Sustainability 🌍📚

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Dec 12

Our editorial overview is a good place to start exploring the contents of the 2024 #COBIOT articles on Plant #SynBio: sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Editorial overview: Plant synthetic biology

sciencedirect.com

Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Dec 12

For the past year, Andrew Hanson and I have been co-editing a Current Opinion in Biotechnology issue on Plant Synthetic Biology 🌱🧬The full collection of perspectives from predominantly early career scientists is now online: https://buff.ly/49wuhir

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Dec 9

Early career faculty, postdocs and students: Apply now to join us for a weekend of Plant Synthetic Biology presentations and discussions with academic, industry and government scientists in the heart of the UF Gainesville campus (Feb 28 - March 2, 2025) hos.ifas.ufl.edu/advertisemen...

Poster for "How SynBio can realistically impact crop improvement and agriculture" Selected PhD students, postdoctoral scientists and early career faculty will get the chance to pitch their SynBio ideas.

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Dec 3

For today's UF SynBio Webinar, Rebecca Smith (who recently started joined the UW-Madison faculty) will talk about lignin bioengineering. https://buff.ly/4eX32OZ

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Reposted by Catalin Voiniciuc

Lee Sweetlove @leesweetlove.bsky.social · Nov 20

This short editorial (just over a page) in @natureplants.bsky.social is an invaluable guide to the latest techniques in proteomics and other technologies for figuring out gene function. Well worth a read. #PlantScience

Nature Plants @natplants.nature.com · Nov 19

New Editorial: "Alternate routes to gene functions" rdcu.be/d0IB9

The functions of many genes in model plants are unknown. Traditional methods to infer function are showing their limitations, but other approaches are emerging. #PlantScience

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Nov 4

I am pleased to welcome Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro as our UF SynBio Webinar speaker in two weeks. From synthetic biology + metabolic engineering to sustainable proteins and more

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Oct 15

Today's UF SynBio Webinar features Christopher Dundas from UGA, and the development of new sucrose biosensors for rhizobacteria

Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Sep 17

Discovered a new perk of being a faculty member at UF: April 1st due date for most books

Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Sep 5

Imagine Billy in front of a PhD qualifying committee. Committee: "Billy, you have great enthusiasm and a large network of potential collaborators, but we are concerned at the lack of preliminary data to support your claims." What would Billy say? #cuisineduFyre

Exclusive | Fyre Festival II Is Happening. The Only Question Is Where. And When. And How.

Billy McFarland’s first Fyre Fest was a disaster that landed him in prison for fraud and left him with $26 million in debts. This time, he says, it “has to work.”

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Aug 23

This is a fun exploration of the future https://buff.ly/3AyTQSt, akin to the final chapters in The Genesis Machine https://buff.ly/473nbR5 At least one part of the 2025 vision will surely benefit human health.

A Biohacker Future by Compound

An exploration of the future of Biohacking and self-directed science by Compound

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Reposted by Catalin Voiniciuc

Joint Genome Institute @jgi.doe.gov · Jul 23

Each year we review proposals for state-of-the-art functional genomics research to translate genomic info into biological function by leveraging our DNA synthesis & ‘omics capabilities: jointgeno.me/CSPFG2024_B
🖥️🧬🧪🦠🌱🍄

@berkeleylab.bsky.social @lbnlbiosci.bsky.social @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social

JGI announces 2024 Functional Genomics awardees - DOE Joint Genome Institute

Each year, the JGI accepts proposals for state-of-the-art functional genomics research from reseachers who translate genomic information into biological function. Through our CSP Functional Genomics c...

jointgeno.me

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Catalin Voiniciuc @cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · Feb 9

“What cell are you building? E. coli? Yeast? No, the cell we are building is American” Surely the best argument to fund minimal cell research at the federal level 😊 buzzsprout.com