Mirror photo by Cherie Hicks Michael Farrow sits in his Altoona home next to an 1850 marble fireplace that came from his aunts house in Philadelphia. The author of Altoonas Historic Mishler Theatre will receive the 2016 Angel of the Arts award from the Blair County Foundation on Saturday.

Michael Farrow was educated in human genetics and spent a career in the emerging field. But he has spent his retirement indulging his love of history and the arts, roused by youthful summers spent at his grandparents in Philadelphia.

He researched and wrote Altoonas Historic Mishler Theatre, published last year. For that, the Blair County Arts Foundation is honoring him with its 2016 Angel of the Arts award at its annual dinner on Saturday.

He devoted three years of his life to it and is giving all the proceeds to the Mishler, said Kate Shaffer, BCAF executive director.

She said the 174-page hardback book created a magnificent retrospective of the Mishlers past, present and potential.

Farrow said the award surprises him because even though he was born and mostly raised in Altoona, he went away for his college and career.

Im just somebody who came back to town (six) years ago after being gone for years, he said.

Farrow wasnt supposed to grow up here. Less than a year after he was born, his father, a medical doctor, took the family and his practice to a Boston suburb to take care of soldiers returning from World War II.

But, in 1943, when Farrow was 4, his father contracted strep throat from a patient and died; penicillin, only recently discovered, was not widely available.

The family eventually returned to Altoona, where Farrow attended Adams Elementary, Roosevelt Junior High and Altoona High, graduating in 1957. Summers were spent crisscrossing Philadelphia for its historical sites, museums and art.

For 12 years, I was immersed in all this history, said Farrow.

Although his grandparents were of Lebanese descent having immigrated in the late 19th century they lived near a neighborhood of working-class Italian immigrants, who would sit on their front stoops, talk and listen to music blaring from inside. That is where Farrow picked up his love of opera.

He bragged on the Altoona schools music programs, and he was in the band. He also spent a lot of time in movie theaters there were 10 in Altoona in the 1950s, he noted.

Farrow didnt consider music or art as a career because he was afraid he would end up as a teacher, an occupation he didnt want.

Just as he was getting his bachelors in biology from Juniata College in 1961, details of DNA were emerging, even though research had been devoted to agriculture.

Farrow then went to West Virginia University, earning his masters and doctorate in human genetics in 1970. He spent a one-year fellowship as a genetic counselor at WVU, fielding questions from mothers in the regions hollows and researching drugs used in leukemia patients.

Genetics was an up and coming field and the more I got into it, I found it fascinating, he said.

Drug companies began studying how their drugs and chemicals affected human genetics. Farrow went to work for Wyeth in Philadelphia, creating its first genetics lab and conducting tests to determine the toxicologic effect of chemicals and drugs on bacteria, animals and humans.

Then the federal Environmental Protection Agency began researching the effects of pesticides on humans and contracted with research companies to set up testing procedures. Farrow left Wyeth for Washington, D.C., and got in on the ground floor of breakthrough government research.

He worked for several contractors, building genetics laboratories, developing testing protocols and researching the effects of pesticides and drugs on humans. He spent the last two dozen years of his career working to get drugs and chemicals registered for government controls.

Farrow retired in 2005 and decided five years later to return to Altoona to be near his siblings after his mother died.

He delved into history research, publishing his first book on all those movie theaters he had visited as a youngster. Now Showing: A History of Altoona and Blair County Theatres was published in 2013 and sold out in two months.

Then he took a month off before starting Altoonas Historic Mishler Theatre.

Farrow now works on myriad projects for the Blair County Historical Society and its Baker Mansion, as a board member, and researching historical venues and conducting lectures and tours, such as historical neighborhoods and churches.

The fourth-generation Lebanese-American also plans to write a history on the 100 or so families that immigrated from Lebanon and Syria to Altoona well over a century ago.

If you really love something that doesnt have a lot of opportunities, make it your hobby and make a living at something you love as well, he said.

That hobby, he said, also helps him support causes that he loves.

I like Altoona and all the arts. They need money, he said. How can I support them if Im not a millionaire? I can lend my talent. Plus I get a high finding the history and these little unknown tidbits that are fascinating.

Mirror Staff Writer Cherie Hicks is at 949-7030.

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History is Altoona man's hobby, and genetics is livelihood - Altoona Mirror

Farmers toured plots of winter barley at Corskie.

Getting livestock genetics and crop varieties right is the focus at the new Moryashire monitor farm.

Corskie Farm at Garmouth, near Fochabers, which is run by Iain Green in partnership with his parents and his two eldest daughters Laura and Jemma, recently held its first meeting as the new monitor farm for Morayshire.

The farming enterprise comprises a well-known pedigree herd of Simmental cattle, commercial cattle, pedigree sheep, indoor pigs and arable cropping.

It is one of nine farms taking part in the new monitor farms programme, which is being run jointly by Quality Meat Scotland and AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds.

Funded by a 1.25million grant from the Scottish Government, the scheme aims to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Scottish farm businesses.

Speaking to more than 100 local farmers who attended the first monitor farm meeting, Mr Green said he was keen to get the most out of genetics, whether it be for crops or livestock.

We always strive to improve what we do, whether thats genetics or new cereal varieties. The main thing for me is to either increase outputs and reduce costs or reduce costs and keep outputs rising, said Mr Green.

Visitors to the meeting were given a tour of the farm, including a look at a field of hybrid winter variety plots including Sunningdale, Bazooka, Volume and Belfry.

Although winter barley is not commonly grown in Morayshire, the Greens say its high yield produces feed for the pig enterprise and an early entry for forage crops for the out-wintered commercial cows.

Mr Green said two challenges currently facing the farm were the ventilation in the large cattle shed and the importance of synchronising computer programmes for electronic tagging.

He said: I hope the monitor farm management group will come up with some challenges for our farm. Its good to have outside eyes looking at what were doing.

Im keen to try new things. You never know there might be some way of adding value to the cereals we grow, or finishing all the cattle on farm, rather than selling store.

Farmers wishing to get involved with the project are asked to contact Samantha Stewart on 01343 548 789 or Derek Hanton on 01463 233 266.

Here is the original post:
Genetics a key focus of new Morayshire monitor farmers - Press and Journal

David Burton, University of Missouri Extension 6:03 a.m. CT March 4, 2017

David Burton(Photo: Submitted photo)

Using genetic testing helps make quality beef production and farm profits more predictable, according to University of Missouri Extension livestock specialists.

The upcoming Beef Cattle ReproGeneworkshop is designed to help producers take steps in beef cattle reproduction and genetics that go beyond breeding advances taught in the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program.

Options will be explained in the three-hour session (including a live demonstration), and a meal will be served. The workshop takes place from 4-8:30 p.m.March 16 at the Springfield Livestock Marketing Center.

Registration is required by calling the Lawrence County Extension at 417-499-3102.

Missouri herd owners can learn to produce more profitable cattle with better genetics.

The protocols now used depend on proven genetics of the bulls. EPDs, expected progeny differences, guide improvement.

With genomic testing, all heifers in a herd can be DNA-tested. This provides accurate predictions of future calf performance.

On the reproduction side, Dave Patterson will tell of new research that offers better conception rates from artificial insemination (AI). Split-time AI gets more cows pregnant. Also coming is the use of sex-sorted semen, which makes it possible to set the sex before insemination.

DNA samples can come from blood drawn from a calfs ear or the root bulb from tail hair. Many producers use convenient tissue sampling units that take a punch from the ear.

New technology allows breeding higher-value animals, selecting traits that improve pregnancy rates and carry-through to final product at the packing plant.

A series of workshops dealing with the direct marketing of farm products is planned for the Missouri State University Fruit Experiment Station, 9740 Red Spring Road, Mountain Grove, beginning on March 17.

The workshops are designed to assist producers of agriculture products as they work to add direct marketing to their farm business plan.

Session 1: March 17, 1p.m.is titled, Getting Started Planning the Business and Developing a Marketing Strategy.

Session 2: April 19, 1p.m.is titled, Direct Marketing Animal Products Rules, Regulations & Practical Tips. Also, Personal Experiences with Direct Marketing Beef, Lamb, and Pork, will be presented that same day.

Session 3: June 8, 2017, 5p.m.is titled, Direct Marketing Produce.

There are three options for attending this series.Producers interested in marketing animal products can enroll in sessions 1 and 2 for a fee of $20.Those interested in marketing horticultural products can enroll in sessions 1 and 3 for $20.Anyone who would like to attend all three workshops may do so for $25.

To reserve a seat in the series, call Wright County MU Extension at 417-547-7545.

David Burton, civic communication specialist for University of Missouri Extension, 2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield, MO 65807, can be reached at 881-8909 or burtond@missouri.edu.

Read or Share this story: http://sgfnow.co/2lpHUej

Continued here:
High-quality, profitable beef made possible by genetic tests - Springfield News-Leader

Higher corn populations may be the way of the future, but seed companies are finding yield and economic benefits from high populations are both hybrid- and field-specific.

Myron Stine, president of Stine Seed Company, said his company began to see benefits in hybrids that performed well at high populations in the early 1990s. Over time, they started to identify the genetics responsible and developed a high-population growing system matched with specific genetics.

Genetics are fluid, but it takes a long time to change those, Stine said. We view (high-population corn) as a constantly evolving technology (and) management practice.

Honing in on higher populations

Stine said the number of growers in 2016 who saw a difference from higher population corn was fewer than in 2015, but those who did notice a difference saw a more dramatic improvement.

Like other management practices, farmers who use higher populations expect better yields on average across multiple years just as varying benefits are expected from fungicide or split-season nitrogen applications because of variable growing season conditions.

Stine said that in 2016 some high-population plantings had nitrogen left over, while the high-population fields with the biggest yield gains used up the available nitrogen.

The company developed a twin 20-inch-row planting system with John Deere and Great Plains. The twin rows can be harvested with a 20-inch corn header while halving the row spacing width. A twin 30-inch-row system is also possible.

This system is also being used with variable rate technology. Growers are varying populations from 30,000 to 45,000 seeds per acre and changing hybrid selection as they move from less productive to more productive ground.

Pairing populations and hybrids

Paul Carter, DuPont Pioneer senior agronomy sciences manager, said all Pioneer hybrids are tested at 20 to 30 locations over several years, plus hundreds of on-farm trials. Planting populations in some of these tests range from 18,000 to 50,000 seeds per acre on 30-inch rows.

In general, Pioneer has found the seeding rate required to maximize yield increases as yield level increases, Carter said.

The economic optimum seeding rate varies from about 30,000 seeds/acre for locations yielding 150 bu./acre to over 37,000 seeds/acre for yields of 240 bu./acre. Average responses vary by hybrid and local situations.

Brad Van Kooten, DuPont Pioneer senior marketing manager, said in studies looking at high seeding rates in 15-inch rows, they found about 80 percent of the germplasm worked well with 30-inch-row performance 20 percent responded differently. Of the total, 10 percent performed better in narrow row, high-population environments over a period of at least three years.

The benefits from these top-performing, high-population hybrids are incremental, Van Kooten said. While statistically better, they were not make or break differences.

Producers should review soil fertility levels to make sure they match their higher production goals, he said.

Pioneer also found a correlation between higher seeding rate advantages and shorter maturity corn.

Location is likely an important factor as higher planting densities may be better able to take advantage of a shorter growing season, Van Kooten explained.

Carter said that over the past 50 years, improved corn genetics have led to a gain of around 2 bushels per acre per year.

A lot of that gain has come from developing hybrids that can withstand the stress of plant to plant competition, he said.

Its important for growers to keep up with this gain, but the additional population required may be near an additional 250 plants per acre per year, he said.

So theres been a steady, a linear increase. We havent seen a step change, he said.

Van Kooten said theyve learned that the highest yielding genetics may not always benefit from higher populations. Population should be a hybrid-by-hybrid decision.

To find the sweet spot for each hybrid, Pioneer has a number of tools, including a Planting Rate Estimator app. Local seed reps likely are the best resource for farmers, Van Kooten said.

Understanding high populations

Becks Hybrids Practical Farm Research Agronomist Alexandra Knight said theyve seen a trend of high population seeding rate success in highly productive soils with high organic matter.

Knight said Becks participated in a multi-hybrid planting study from 2012 to 2015, testing offensive and defensive hybrids and corresponding seeding rates based on yield map history. It found a 7 bushel per acre benefit in corn.

Their Iowa 2016 High Yield Attempt PFR study a moonshot of sorts for highest yield also showed a yield advantage with a higher seeding rate.

Knight said some of the factors that seem to play a role in making a hybrid that performs best at high populations include uniform emergence and consistency of ear fill. Precise nitrogen placement, both timing and location, has also been key in high-yield attempts.

In 2017, PFR research will include testing hybrids at planting rates from 30,000 to 42,000, Knight said.

As they continue to develop their high population corn system, Stine said they are finding a number of traits are responsible for making a hybrid that performs well at high populations.

Generally, we are seeing shorter plant types with more upright leaves, he said.

On some high-population hybrids, they are beginning to see tassels below top leaves of the plant, he added.

Earlier flowering is also common observation with successful early season hybrids, Stine said.

Read the rest here:
Genetics key with high corn populations - Illinois Farmer Today

Worldwide, at least US$3 billion is spent every year on genetics research, with half coming from governments. Yet less than 3% of this is spent on research addressing how to incorporate genetics into medical practice, and even less is spent applying genetics to the prevention of disease.

Right now, optimism about the potential of genetics is high. Breakthroughs in genetics are reported with enthusiasm, and genetics research continues to comprise a large proportion of all funded research. Funding is often awarded because researchers claim once we understand the genetic components of a disease like cancer, we will be able to better predict, prevent, and even cure disease. Future cures are often reported long before theyre available.

However, some scientists and medical specialists are starting to question whether the money invested in genetic research is well spent. Are we getting the promised benefits from this investment?

Do people want genetic testing?

Heres an example in which genetic testing applies. Once a person is found to have a hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome, usually after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer, all members of the family can be offered genetic testing for the particular genetic mutation found in the person with cancer.

Family members found positive can then be screened more intensively to prevent future colorectal cancers. Those found not to carry the mutation will not need intensive screening, despite the family history. Research on how this works in practice has found that only about half (56%) of nearly 2,000 eligible family members underwent testing. Those untested were also less likely (compared to those tested) to undergo other forms of screening for colorectal cancer.

We know that for most people who have predictive genetic testing, the process is psychologically beneficial and improves their risk perception. But we know less about the attitudes of people in the community, outside of academic institutions and specialist clinics, who are not having testing. Along with colleagues at the University of Melbourne, I study how genetic testing is received in Australia.

We have previously found only 56% of 862 people offered predictive genetic testing for hereditary colorectal cancer as part of their participation in a research study actually went ahead with a test, and received their results. Earlier, we found similarly low rates of uptake for hereditary breast cancer.

Why dont people want genetic testing?

We recently published the results of a study that explored the reasons these people declined genetic testing.

We interviewed 33 men and women who declined the offer of genetic testing and found they were at one of four stages in the process of declining genetic testing:

1) uninformed

2) weak intention

3) conditionally declining

4) unconditionally declining.

Four were considered uninformed because they had not understood the offer, so were not in a position to make a decision. Nine described a weak intention to have genetic testing. They knew there was a test available, and they understood some aspects of it, but they were putting off going ahead with the test because they were not convinced the benefits would outweigh the risks.

Another nine participants were conditionally declining testing, as they had decided not to pursue testing now, but felt they may change their minds in the future. Their reasons for not wanting testing were either that it wouldnt make much difference, or there would be negative side effects of testing. The latter includes increased worry from a positive result, or concerns it would impact access to life insurance products (premiums could rise or they could be declined cover).

The largest group of 11 participants were unconditional decliners who, unlike the other groups, could not imagine going ahead with genetic testing either now or in the future. While the reasons were similar to the previous groups, they were not open to changing their mind.

So what does this mean for genetic testing?

This research reveals several things first, that community understanding of predictive genetic testing is poor in some groups, and second, the value assigned to this testing is far lower than the hype around genetic discoveries would suggest.

Third, it reveals that significant structural barriers stand in the way of genetic testing, particularly the concern life insurance companies can use genetic test information to refuse cover or adjust premiums.

If genetic tests are going to fulfil their promise of contributing to cancer prevention, they need to be seen as something of value, and they need to reach everybody in the community, not just a select few. There needs to be more effort spent engaging with the intended recipients of new technology, and potential barriers, earlier in the process.

Its foolish to ignore the perceptions, assumptions, and concerns of the very people who are meant to use the technology. Predictive genetic testing for hereditary colorectal cancer is in some ways a straightforward test, with clear consequences for medical management. Yet this testing is far from mainstream or acceptable for the people we spoke to.

Its time to devote more than 3% of funding to translation, to ensure scientific advances in genetics result in improved human health and we get value for the whole society from the money spent on research.

Louise Keogh receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research, Victorian Cancer Agency and the National Institutes of Health

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Original post:
Why it might be time to reconsider the money spent on genetics research - EconoTimes

The Kansas Department of Agriculture is seeking individuals to participate in a beef genetics trade mission to Costa Rica on April 23-27, 2017.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture is seeking individuals to participate in a beef genetics trade mission to Costa Rica on April 23-27, 2017. In an effort to increase market opportunities for U.S. and Kansas beef genetics, this program provides an opportunity for Kansas purebred beef cattle producers and allied industry to continue developing relationships with livestock producers in Costa Rica. KDA strives to encourage and enhance economic growth of the agriculture industry and the Kansas economy by exploring and expanding both domestic and international marketing opportunities.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture is seeking individuals to participate in a beef genetics trade mission to Costa Rica on April 23-27, 2017. In an effort to increase market opportunities for U.S. and Kansas beef genetics, this program provides an opportunity for Kansas purebred beef cattle producers and allied industry to continue developing relationships with livestock producers in Costa Rica. KDA strives to encourage and enhance economic growth of the agriculture industry and the Kansas economy by exploring and expanding both domestic and international marketing opportunities.

Attendees will participate in a field day showcasing calves sired by U.S. Red Angus and Charolais bulls crossed with local Costa Rican Brahman dams in an effort to demonstrate the advantages of heterosis in a tropical climate. Initial data from this project supports the use of U.S. genetics. Attendees will also visit a local research university implementing projects utilizing U.S. beef genetics. Additional opportunities to engage with potential buyers of beef semen and embryos and visit Costa Rican ranches will be arranged as part of the mission. Kansas ranchers and related agribusinesses specializing in producing germplasm qualified for export are invited to participate.

This trade mission is funded in part by the U.S. Livestock Genetics Export, Inc. Selected participants will be eligible for travel stipends for airfare depending upon number of applicants and fund availability. Participants will be responsible for the cost of hotels, meals and other incidental expenses.

Individuals interested in participating should complete the application form available on the KDA website at http://www.agriculture.ks.gov/international. The application deadline is Monday, March 6, 2017.

For more information, please contact KDA agribusiness development coordinator Billy Brown at billy.brown@ks.gov or 785-564-6752.

From the Land of Kansas and Farmers Market Event Registration Opens

The From the Land of Kansas Annual Meeting and Farmers Market Conference will be held March 16-17, 2017, in Manhattan. The conference includes the annual meeting for members, partners and farmers markets. It will feature general sessions, specialized workshops and a wholesale trade show for all attendees. This years theme, Focus on our Future, embraces how members from the trademark program and farmers market groups can learn to make their companies and programs more successful.

The From the Land of Kansas Annual Meeting and Farmers Market Conference will be held March 16-17, 2017, in Manhattan. The conference includes the annual meeting for members, partners and farmers markets. It will feature general sessions, specialized workshops and a wholesale trade show for all attendees. This years theme, Focus on our Future, embraces how members from the trademark program and farmers market groups can learn to make their companies and programs more successful.

The annual meeting is an opportunity to network with other Kansas entrepreneurs in the ag industry, said Jackie McClaskey, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture. In addition, sessions will cover a diversity of topics and presentations by experts in the industry for continued learning and growth.

The keynote speaker will be Jon Schallert, destination business expert, whose presentation will focus on reinventing businesses into consumer destinations. Participants in the conference and trade show also will be able to hear from other experts in the agriculture, marketing and food industries. Topics which will be featured in sessions and workshops include:

Small business marketing

Successfully coordinating, managing and sustaining a farmers market

Food industry updates

To register or learn more about the conference, visit FromtheLandofKansas.com/AMeeting. This event is sponsored by Network Kansas; Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism; Hy-Vee; Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops; Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development; Kansas Association of Conservation Districts; Marion County Economic Development; Visit Manhattan; and Pottawatomie County Economic Development.

From the Land of Kansas is the states agriculture trademark program in the Kansas Department of Agriculture. The program works to promote and support Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses that grow, raise or manufacture agriculture products or products for agriculture use. KDA is committed to its mission to help make Kansas businesses more successful, grow rural communities and expand markets for Kansas agricultural products.

If you have questions, please contact Janelle Dobbins, From the Land of Kansas marketing manager, at 785-564-6759 or Janelle.Dobbins@ks.gov. To learn more about From the Land of Kansas, become a From the Land of Kansas member, or find local Kansas food, products or services, visit FromtheLandofKansas.com.

Read more:
KDA seeks participants for beef genetics trade mission - La Junta Tribune Democrat

Market Summary Follow

NewLink Genetics Corporation is a A biopharmaceutical company

NLNK - Market Data & News

NLNK - Stock Valuation Report

NewLink Genetics Corporation (NLNK) traded on unusually high volume on Mar. 03, as the stock gained 3.6% to close at $20.44. On the day, NewLink Genetics Corporation saw 870,492 shares trade hands on 6,041 trades. Considering that the stock averages only a daily volume of 324,193 shares a day over the last month, this represents a pretty significant bump in volume over the norm.

Generally speaking, when a stock experiences a sudden spike in trading volume, it may be seen as a bullish signal for investors. An increase in volume means more market awareness for the company, potentially setting up a more meaningful move in stock price. The added volume also provides a level of support and stability for price advances.

The stock has traded between $20.21 and $9.23 over the last 52-weeks, its 50-day SMA is now $12.64, and its 200-day SMA $11.90. NewLink Genetics Corporation has a P/B ratio of 4.3.

NewLink Genetics Corp is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on discovering, developing and commercializing immunotherapeutic products to improve treatment options for patients with cancer.

Headquartered in Ames, IA, NewLink Genetics Corporation has 210 employees and is currently under the leadership of CEO Charles J. Link.

For a complete fundamental analysis analysis of NewLink Genetics Corporation, check out Equities.coms Stock Valuation Analysis report for NLNK.

Want to invest with the experts? Subscribe to Equities Premium newsletters today! Visit http://www.equitiespremium.com/ to learn more about Guild Investments Market Commentary and Adam Sarhans Find Leading Stocks today.

To get more information on NewLink Genetics Corporation and to follow the companys latest updates, you can visit the companys profile page here: NLNKs Profile. For more news on the financial markets and emerging growth companies, be sure to visit Equities.coms Newsdesk. Also, dont forget to sign-up for our daily email newsletter to ensure you dont miss out on any of our best stories.

All data provided by QuoteMedia and was accurate as of 4:30PM ET.

DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not represent the views of equities.com. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please go to: http://www.equities.com/disclaimer

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NewLink Genetics Corporation (NLNK) Moves Higher on Volume Spike for March 03 - Equities.com

In a statement, Immunomedics (IMMU -1.4%) says that if shareholder venBio takes control of the board after today's vote at the annual meeting, it "intends to seek expedited discovery and and an expedited trial" with respect to a 'multitude of illegal and ethically questionable actions" employed by venBio to "deceive other stockholders into voting for its slate."

The heart of the dispute is the company's exclusive licensing deal with Seattle Genetics (SGEN +1.2%) for cancer candidate IMMU-132, inked about a month ago. VenBio believes the terms of the agreement are too generous and wants Immunomedics to develop the product in-house.

Yesterday, a federal court denied the company's motion for emergency relief saying, "[s]hould the Annual Meeting go forward and the venBio nominees replace the current Board, and should [Immunomedics] subsequently prove the election results were tainted, the Court can exercise its equitable power to void the results of the Annual Meeting (should such action be warranted based on a full record)."

Previously: Immunomedics sues venBio in attempt to thwart takeover of board (Feb. 21)

Excerpt from:
Immunomedics plans to sue venBio to preserve Seattle Genetics deal for IMMU-132 - Seeking Alpha

Higher corn populations may be the way of the future, but seed companies are finding yield and economic benefits from high populations are both hybrid- and field-specific.

Myron Stine, president of Stine Seed Company, said his company began to see benefits in hybrids that performed well at high populations in the early 1990s. Over time, they started to identify the genetics responsible and developed a high-population growing system matched with specific genetics.

Genetics are fluid, but it takes a long time to change those, Stine said. We view (high-population corn) as a constantly evolving technology (and) management practice.

Honing in on higher populations

Stine said the number of growers in 2016 who saw a difference from higher population corn was fewer than in 2015, but those who did notice a difference saw a more dramatic improvement.

Like other management practices, farmers who use higher populations expect better yields on average across multiple years just as varying benefits are expected from fungicide or split-season nitrogen applications because of variable growing season conditions.

Stine said that in 2016 some high-population plantings had nitrogen left over, while the high-population fields with the biggest yield gains used up the available nitrogen.

The company developed a twin 20-inch-row planting system with John Deere and Great Plains. The twin rows can be harvested with a 20-inch corn header while halving the row spacing width. A twin 30-inch-row system is also possible.

This system is also being used with variable rate technology. Growers are varying populations from 30,000 to 45,000 seeds per acre and changing hybrid selection as they move from less productive to more productive ground.

Pairing populations and hybrids

Paul Carter, DuPont Pioneer senior agronomy sciences manager, said all Pioneer hybrids are tested at 20 to 30 locations over several years, plus hundreds of on-farm trials. Planting populations in some of these tests range from 18,000 to 50,000 seeds per acre on 30-inch rows.

In general, Pioneer has found the seeding rate required to maximize yield increases as yield level increases, Carter said.

The economic optimum seeding rate varies from about 30,000 seeds/acre for locations yielding 150 bu./acre to over 37,000 seeds/acre for yields of 240 bu./acre. Average responses vary by hybrid and local situations.

Brad Van Kooten, DuPont Pioneer senior marketing manager, said in studies looking at high seeding rates in 15-inch rows, they found about 80 percent of the germplasm worked well with 30-inch-row performance 20 percent responded differently. Of the total, 10 percent performed better in narrow row, high-population environments over a period of at least three years.

The benefits from these top-performing, high-population hybrids are incremental, Van Kooten said. While statistically better, they were not make or break differences.

Producers should review soil fertility levels to make sure they match their higher production goals, he said.

Pioneer also found a correlation between higher seeding rate advantages and shorter maturity corn.

Location is likely an important factor as higher planting densities may be better able to take advantage of a shorter growing season, Van Kooten explained.

Carter said that over the past 50 years, improved corn genetics have led to a gain of around 2 bushels per acre per year.

A lot of that gain has come from developing hybrids that can withstand the stress of plant to plant competition, he said.

Its important for growers to keep up with this gain, but the additional population required may be near an additional 250 plants per acre per year, he said.

So theres been a steady, a linear increase. We havent seen a step change, he said.

Van Kooten said theyve learned that the highest yielding genetics may not always benefit from higher populations. Population should be a hybrid-by-hybrid decision.

To find the sweet spot for each hybrid, Pioneer has a number of tools, including a Planting Rate Estimator app. Local seed reps likely are the best resource for farmers, Van Kooten said.

Understanding high populations

Becks Hybrids Practical Farm Research Agronomist Alexandra Knight said theyve seen a trend of high population seeding rate success in highly productive soils with high organic matter.

Knight said Becks participated in a multi-hybrid planting study from 2012 to 2015, testing offensive and defensive hybrids and corresponding seeding rates based on yield map history. It found a 7 bushel per acre benefit in corn.

Their Iowa 2016 High Yield Attempt PFR study a moonshot of sorts for highest yield also showed a yield advantage with a higher seeding rate.

Knight said some of the factors that seem to play a role in making a hybrid that performs best at high populations include uniform emergence and consistency of ear fill. Precise nitrogen placement, both timing and location, has also been key in high-yield attempts.

In 2017, PFR research will include testing hybrids at planting rates from 30,000 to 42,000, Knight said.

As they continue to develop their high population corn system, Stine said they are finding a number of traits are responsible for making a hybrid that performs well at high populations.

Generally, we are seeing shorter plant types with more upright leaves, he said.

On some high-population hybrids, they are beginning to see tassels below top leaves of the plant, he added.

Earlier flowering is also common observation with successful early season hybrids, Stine said.

Originally posted here:
Genetics key with high corn populations - Iowa Farmer Today

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Woolly mammoth populations were plentiful 45,000 years ago, but went into genomic freefall as their numbers dwindled around 4,000 years ago.

Isolated on an island in the Arctic Ocean, not only were woolly mammoths the last of a dying species but they were also swamped with bad genes that are likely to have stripped their sense of smell and saddled them with translucent coats.

A study1 published 2 March in PLOS Genetics gives a rare insight into how genomes change as a species dies out. Towards the end of the last Ice Age, around 11,700 years ago, woolly mammoths ranged through Siberia and into the colder stretches of North America. But by about 4,000 years ago, mainland mammoths had died out and only 300 remained on Wrangel Island off the Siberian coast.

In order to examine this disappearance at the genetic level, biologists Rebekah Rogers and Montgomery Slatkin at the University of California, Berkeley, compared the complete genome of a mainland mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) that lived about 45,000 years ago with that of a Wrangel Island mammoth from about 4,300 years ago. The sequences were made available by Love Daln at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm.

As I looked at the sequence data, says Rogers, it became very clear that the Wrangel mammoth had an excess of what looked like bad mutations.

Some of these changes are only visible to a geneticists eye. Compared with the mainland mammoth, the Wrangel Island specimen's genome was riddled with deletions and an abundance of sequences called stop codons which tell a cell when to stop transcribing a section of DNA among other changes to the DNA. But some of these changes would also have been visible in the mammoths behaviour and appearance.

Rogers and Slatkin found that genes related to smell and urinary proteins, which in modern elephants are important for eliciting mating behaviours or signalling social status were shut down by the mutations. These might be related, the researchers hypothesize, because a duller sense of smell may have been hitched in a feedback loop to the loss of urinary proteins, leading to the rapid loss of both. Changes to the Wrangel mammoths coats would have been even more obvious. Rogers and Slatkin propose that a mutation in a part of the genome called FOXQ1 would have given the mammoths a satin coat, marked by fur that is the same colour as normal but is shiny and translucent.

What happened on Wrangel wasnt a matter of inbreeding, Rogers says the genetic signal is different.

What did happen was that the population was simply small, she says, and under these circumstances any mammoth was better than no mammoth at all, so natural selection did not operate in the usual way. This allowed unhelpful mutations to rack up, following a previously identified phenomenon called nearly neutral genome evolution. Bad mutations that would normally be weeded out werent removed from the population because of reduced competition, says Rogers.

Isolation and reducing population size have long been recognized as important factors causing endangerment, says palaeontologist Ross MacPhee of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, but the recognition of the mammoths genetic meltdown is a sign of how far studies of ancient DNA have come, and the work that still lies ahead.

The changes on Wrangel Island took place after mammoths had already been wiped out on the mainland. Tracking the downfall of the species is an ongoing effort, says MacPhee. With additional specimens, drawn from other times and parts of the woolly mammoths enormous range, we may get a better picture of the genetic load that this species was labouring under at the end of its tenure.

Still, MacPhee adds, the study is maybe telling us something very important about what happens in populations already under severe threat because of diminished range and numbers.

MacPhee cautions that no single animal or genome can tell the whole story for an entire species. But he notes that human hunting, climate change or any other external factor wasn't enough by itself to wipe out the woolly mammoth. There had to be some other element operating within the animals, driving them to extinction.

As dramatic as genetic meltdown sounds, Rogers says that its difficult to tell whether the increase in bad mutations contributed directly to the final extinction of the woolly mammoth. Yet the findings have implications for the survival of the mammoths elephant cousins and other endangered mammals. Rogers notes that its better to prevent a species from becoming endangered in the first place than to try to recover its genetic diversity after a sharp plummet.

Even though we can improve the number of individuals in endangered populations, she says, their genomes may still bear the hallmarks of genomic meltdown, which will be difficult to undo.

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Dying woolly mammoths were in 'genetic meltdown' - Nature.com