New York News
High-tech chestnuts: Researchers genetically modify tree to save species
Researchers at the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry will soon seek federal clearance to distribute thousands of modified trees as part of a restoration effort — a closely watched move that could expand the frontier for...
Progress being made toward restoring a blight-tolerant American chestnut
UNE is the only place in New England where students are working with fungal blight-tolerant American chestnut seedlings. A team of scientists created the seedlings by inserting a gene from wheat into them. The wheat gene protects the plant from fungal blight. Many...
Diversifying transgenic blight‐tolerant American chestnut population
Over four billion American chestnut trees have been killed as a result of an introduced pathogen, the chestnut blight. But recently, thanks to science and the hard work of TACF and our partners, transgenic blight‐tolerant American chestnut trees have been developed....
Science Saves an Old Chestnut
A blight-tolerant American chestnut tree is the latest example of what the science community has begun to call a GRO—a genetically rescued organism. In the past century approximately four billion chestnut trees have been lost in the U.S. due to blight that spread when...
How GMOs Might Save The American Chestnut Tree
To save the American chestnut tree, researchers want to release genetically engineered trees into the wild to reproduce. It would be a first — a possible breakthrough and an irreversible experiment. Listen to NPR's On Point to hear a discussion with Dr. William...
Can a transgenic chestnut restore a forest icon?
Two deer-fenced plots here contain some of the world's most highly regulated trees. Each summer researchers double-bag every flower the trees produce. One bag, made of breathable plastic, keeps them from spreading pollen. The second, an aluminum mesh screen added a...