Modified

modifiedgmopodcast

Join me as we dig into a heaped serving of GMO crops through the lens of science, history, and culture. From the Victorian origins of plant genetics through to the genetically modified world we live in today. I’m Dr. Orlando de Lange and I’ll be your guide as we explore true stories that just might change how you think about the past, present and future of food. 

  1. 1D AGO

    The colorful world of GMOs

    From glowing petunias to purple tomatoes - this episode is a roundup of some of the lesser known GMO crops that are nonetheless out there in our world.    Key references   Glowing plants I Bought a Glowing Plant. It Led Me Down a Rabbit Hole. Scientific American. 2024 Glowing Plant US Patent www.light.bio  - to buy your own glowing plant.    Blue Roses https://www.suntoryapplause.com/ https://www.suntory.com/sic/story/bluerose/ Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_rose    Pink Pineapples https://www.pinkglowpineapple.com/ US Patent Purple tomatoes Martin C, Butelli E. The Purple Tomato Story; From Laboratory Bench to the Consumer. ACS Food Sci Technol. 2024 GM Purple Tomato Gets Approval in the United States. ISAAA. 2024 https://www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com/   Rainbow Papaya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Gonsalves   Arctic apples https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02648725.1998.10647966 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Apples#Commercialization   GMO poplar trees https://www.livingcarbon.com/ For the First Time, Genetically Modified Trees Have Been Planted in a U.S. Forest. New York Times. 2023 Wang G, Dong Y, Liu X, Yao G, Yu X, Yang M. The Current Status and Development of Insect-Resistant Genetically Engineered Poplar in China. Front Plant Sci. 2018 Tao, Y.; Chiu, L.-W.; Hoyle, J.W.; Dewhirst, R.A.; Richey, C.; Rasmussen, K.; Du, J.; Mellor, P.; Kuiper, J.; Tucker, D.; et al. Enhanced Photosynthetic Efficiency for Increased Carbon Assimilation and Woody Biomass Production in Engineered Hybrid Poplar. Forests 2023

    50 min

  2. MAR 22

    Your Questions Answered - Part 2

    From glowing fish to feminizing tofu - the second and final installment of me answering your questions about GMO.  References relevant to Question 1 - Soy Phytoestrogens Article on use of the term “Soy boy” Messina, M., Mejia, S. B., Cassidy, A., Duncan, A., Kurzer, M., Nagato, C., … Barnes, S. (2022). Neither soyfoods nor isoflavones warrant classification as endocrine disruptors: a technical review of the observational and clinical data. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 62(21), 5824–5885.  Povey AC, Clyma J-A, McNamee R, et al; Participating Centres of Chaps-UK. Phytoestrogen intake and other dietary risk factors for low motile sperm count and poor sperm morphology. Andrology. 2020;8:1805–1814.   References relevant to Question 2 - GMO animals Wikipedia article on GloFish - provides a good summary of the history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GloFish 2003 discussion forum - discussing merits of brand new GloFish product.  Bratspies, Rebecca. (2005). Glowing in the Dark: How America's First Transgenic Animal Escaped Regulation.  CAPITOL ALERT ‘Glowing fish’ exempt from proposed ban on gene-edited pets in California By Kate Wolffe Updated February 5, 2026 2:20 PM Wikipedia article on AquaAdvantage Salmon 2024 AquaBounty press release announcing sell off of assets.  References relevant to Question 3 - Health impacts of GMOs Shen, C., Yin, XC., Jiao, BY. et al. Evaluation of adverse effects/events of genetically modified food consumption: a systematic review of animal and human studies. Environ Sci Eur 34, 8 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-021-00578-9

    46 min

  3. MAR 7

    Round Up Ready - The GMO that launched a thousand lawsuits

    Why did Monsanto take a canadian farmer all the way to the supreme court? And what does this have to do with controversial herbicide glyphosate? Learn about the science and history of Round Up Ready GMO crops. Key references https://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/fc-cf/decisions/en/item/38991/index.do → The Monsanto vs. Schmeiser Supreme Court Decision.   https://www.helbocklaw.com/california-jury-awards-2-billion-couple-roundup-weed-killer-cancer-trial/ → Article about California lawsuit related to glyphosate   https://academic.oup.com/toxsci/article/192/2/131/7066927#402719028 → Review of glyphosate studies.    Funke, H. Han, M.L. Healy-Fried, M. Fischer, & E. Schönbrunn, Molecular basis for the herbicide resistance of Roundup Ready crops, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103 (35) 13010-13015,    Landau et al., The silver bullet that wasn’t: Rapid agronomic weed adaptations to glyphosate in North America, PNAS Nexus, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2023, pgad338,   https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/60663500/publications/reddy/reddy%20and%20nandula_2-12_ija_57-1-7.pdf → Overview of herbicide resistant crops.

    35 min

  4. FEB 21

    Bt Crops - GMOs go mainstream

    The NewLeaf potato was a failure, appearing and disappearing in under a decade. But it was the first of a new wave of GMO crops that have endured to the present day - Bt crops.    Key references Insect Resistance in Crops: A Case Study of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and its Transfer to Developing Countries. 1997.   The chronicle of the ups and downs that made Bacillus thuringiensis a natural insecticide by Ninfa Rosas-Garcia, 2023.    https://dfg-vk-darmstadt.de/Lexikon_Auflage_2/BerlinerErnst.htm Biographical details about Ernst Berliner.  https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/biotechnology → 2025 USDA data on Bt crops   https://farmingfirst.org/2025/12/how-africa-can-benefit-from-south-africa-success-with-gm-crops/ ⇒ GMO crops in South Africa.    https://farmingfirst.org/2025/12/how-africa-can-benefit-from-south-africa-success-with-gm-crops/ ⇒ GMO crops in Kenya Rise and fall of the New Leaf Potato - https://krautnah.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/15_7_2_Thornton.pdf.  https://time.com/archive/6925559/why-mcdonalds-pulled-frankenfries-from-menu/TIME article about lack of commercial interest in NewLeaf potato.  Resources on Bt and milkweed https://news.cornell.edu/stories/1999/04/toxic-pollen-bt-corn-can-kill-monarch-butterflies https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/116/2/297/6968925 → 2023 review paper on Bt crops and resistance https://www.monarchscience.org/single-post/2020/09/02/a-look-back-at-the-time-when-the-entire-world-thought-bt-corn-was-killing-monarchs → Blog post summarizing the incident https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001415 → Bt crops and bees https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.241503398 → read this and see if its useful

    40 min

  5. FEB 7

    First ever GMO: The FlavrSavr tomato

    How one tomato changed the world? Or was it two? And what is a GMO tomato anyway. Slice into the story of the FlavrSavr tomato.    Key references Grierson D. Identifying and silencing tomato ripening genes with antisense genes. Plant Biotechnol J. 2016 Mar;14(3):835-8. doi: 10.1111/pbi.12463. Epub 2015 Sep 15. PMID: 26369550; PMCID: PMC11389017.     https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-operations/altered-stakes https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/jun/14/hot-tomatoes-genetically-altered-tomatoes-are/ → Articles about the sales of the Flavr Savr. Commercialization_of_a_tomato_with_an_antisense_po.pdf - 1994, Euphytica The Flavr Savr Tomato, an Early Example of RNAi Technology.pdf - 2008, HortScience

    31 min

  6. JAN 24

    How to Make a GMO Plant

    From hacking bacteria to blasting your way into the heart of the cell, in this episode we explore the ways to get a transgene into a plant cell and go from there to a whole genetically engineered plant.    Key references Herrera-Estrella L. My journey into the birth of plant transgenesis and its impact on modern plant biology. Plant Biotechnol J. 2020   Chimeric Genes as Dominant Selectable Markers in Plant Cells. Herrera-Estrella et al., 1983, the EMBO Journal. - First publication of delivering a recombinant T-DNA plasmid into plant cells.   History of Plant Tissue Culture. Trevor A Thorpe. University of Calgary   Current Advancement and Future Prospects in Simplified Transformation Based Plant Genome Editing. Han et al., Plants (Basel). 2025 - Review of plant transformation techniques.    Deep Dive into Plant Transformation: Protoplast Mediated, Biolistic, Agrobacterium Mediated Gene Transfer. Dr Adriana Gallego. GoldBio.  - Article about different plant transformation methods.

    32 min

  7. JAN 10

    The Early Days of Genetic Engineering

    How did a few labs in the San Francisco area transform our relationship to life itself?   Guidelines for Hybrid DNA Molecules - Maxine Singer and Dieter Soll - Science, 1973 Potential Biohazards of Recombinant DNA Molecules - Berg et al., Science, 1974 Electron Micrograph of plasmid DNA, 1967 Valentine remembered for visionary thinking that transformed agriculture - Trina Kleist, 2023

    27 min

  8. 12/27/2025

    How Science Took Over Plant Breeding

    What actually is plant breeding and how did it become so deeply intertwined with genetics?

    39 min
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About

Join me as we dig into a heaped serving of GMO crops through the lens of science, history, and culture. From the Victorian origins of plant genetics through to the genetically modified world we live in today. I’m Dr. Orlando de Lange and I’ll be your guide as we explore true stories that just might change how you think about the past, present and future of food. 

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  • Creator
    modifiedgmopodcast
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
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    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
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