Updates « Biofortified

Introducing GENERA

by Karl Haro von Mogel on 2 November 2010

Some of you may have noticed a little restructuring on Biofortified lately, others may have gone browsing around and found an interesting unexplained page, or might have recalled discussions about a new and fantastic database being planned for Biofortified and what we were thinking about calling it. Well now the wait is over and all will be explained. I am pleased to introduce regulars and newcomers to the GENetic Engineering Risk Atlas, aka GENERA.

This is intended to be an atlas of any and all peer-reviewed research related to the relative risks of plant genetic engineering in the context of plant breeding. David Tribe has maintained a list of 300 papers related to this topic on GMO Pundit, and earlier this year we decided that all this information needed to be more visible and accessible to everyone. After searching deep within the bowels of WordPress plugins and php code, I figured out how to use the WordPress platform to host and manage a separate set of custom pages that will store and organize details about each study in a way that people can easily browse and search to find what they want.

Happy Biofortified Biennial!

by Frank N. Foode on 1 November 2010

Hi everyone, Frank N. Foode here giving you the latest update on some exciting things.

First, I am (belatedly) proud to announce the winner of the second Community Contest, and that illustrious distinction goes to Bernarda, who swept the competition in a landslide! Any moment now they will be the proud owner of a new Biofortified tote bag. Thanks for disagreeing with someone with politeness and respect and above all – constructively!

Second, it seems that no one has yet entered our inaugural annual frankenfood carving contest, and the deadline was set for this coming Wednesday. Now I’m sure as you ghosts and goblins go to bed tonight on Halloween, there are scary pumpkins smoldering outside on your doorstep. Don’t throw them out – take a picture and upload them to your profile and have a chance to share in a glorious victory. As of now, the contest deadline has been extended to Sunday, November 7th, at midnight Pacific, as always. And to sweeten the pot, the winner will not only get a cotton canvas tote bag with the blog emblem emblazoned on its side, they will be the first here to receive a very special gift

Contest #1 Winner and Contest #2

by Frank N. Foode on 17 October 2010

Hi everyone, Frank N. Foode here bringing you the results of the first Biofortified Community Contest!

Both Pdiff and MaryM were nominated in the comments of the contest announcement,and it was a tough choice. Both have been providing superb input and support in comments and in the forum. So who won?

Community Contest #1 and more!

by Frank N. Foode on 10 October 2010

Hi everybody! Frank N. Foode here. Biofortified is workin’ on building its community of editors, contributors, and readers with the new profile system. We’re also coming up on our first Biennial celebration on the 31st of the month, making this an exciting month for talking about plant genetics. Plus we’ll have more to say about our own Rally to Restore Sanity in the debate over genetic engineering, and if that was not enough, there will be opportunities for everyone to be able to win fabulous prizes – and I’m going to tell you about your first chance!

The first Biofortified Community Contest is on, and it will be a contest for the best comment or comments. That’s right, just by writing just one awesome comment that contributes to the discussion here, you can win a prize! It could be about some of the many things we talk about on the blog such as the science, politics, social and philosophical issues, personal beliefs, or a collection of helpful links that you have scoured the internet for.

Here are the rules:

Anyone can nominate someone for this contest, but must link to at least one comment (can be several) by that author.
You may nominate yourself!
Editors (and me) are ineligible for the contest – but contributing authors can get in on the action.
Comments can be from any date in the past, present, or future. They can be comments on posts or in the forum.
In order to accept the award, comment author must be registered, fill out at least some of their profile, and have a picture uploaded for their avatar. (Profile can be done after the winner is announced. Picture need not be a human photo – how about a cool plant?)
The winner(s) will be judged on how awesomely smart, cool, funny, and productive their comments are. We want to reward people that help elevate the discussion and give them a special status in the community.
Nominations will close on Friday October 15th at midnight Pacific Standard Time. (End of the day, not the beginning!)
Winner(s) will be decided by Biofortified’s editors, and will be announced on the 17th of October.

What do you win, aside from eternal glory? Why, some genetically engineered blog schwag.

Introducing FrankNSpace!

by Karl Haro von Mogel on 3 October 2010

A few days ago I mentioned we were going to institute a new registered user profile system here at Biofortified. We want our regular readers and discussion participants to be able to share more about themselves on their profiles, and for visitors to be able to see the people behind the words a little more clearly. Finally, while words can cross and get tense at times, we feel that it will foster more civil discussions if you can find out more about the person behind the comments you are responding to.

Coding, testing, and implementation of this new system is now complete. Behold, I give you FrankNSpace!*

Let me tell you what you can do with this.