New York News
A CNY scientist’s work could change the world. But he might not live long enough to see it happen
We’ve all had eureka moments, those flashes of insight that, for most of us anyway, add up to little more than remembering where we left our car keys. But William Powell isn’t like most people. His eureka moment might change the world. Up until last year, Powell was a...
The USDA’s approval of GE chestnut trees would be a step forward for threatened species conservation
"It is an exciting time in the field of conservation and biotechnology. For the first time, it appears likely that a tree that has been developed with genetic engineering (GE) could be approved by U.S. regulatory agencies for use in restoring a threatened species to...
Bringing Back the American Chestnut
"At the turn of the [20th] century, ...the American chestnut was devastated by blight... The blight swept through the Appalachian forest at a rate of 50 miles a year, leaving the species as nothing more than an early-succession-stage shrub. Now, the American...
Gene editing could save a nearly lost tree
Researchers at SUNY ESF are growing American chestnut trees that can withstand blight. They are ready to release the trees into the wild, becoming the first in the United States to use genetic engineering to bring back a forest tree to its former glory. Read the full...
The Demise and Potential Revival of the American Chestnut
Before a disastrous blight, the American chestnut was a keystone species in eastern forests. Could genetic engineering help bring it back? "In the 1990s, William Powell, a professor at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York, who'd...
Can Genetic Engineering Bring Back the American Chestnut?
The [American chestnut] tree helped build industrial America before disease wiped out an estimated three billion or more of them. To revive their lost glory, we may need to embrace tinkering with nature. Read the full story at New York Times Magazine