Mike Jackson's account of the early molecular work at IRRI's International Rice Genebank is a nice reminder that the idea of the "genomic genebank" (as he calls it) is not as new as it may sounds. In ...

When we think about crops moving around the world -- and we often do around here -- the Columbian Exchange is the canonical example, and why not? The transatlantic movement of maize, potatoes, ...

There is nothing particularly new about the idea that the stuff genebanks conserve should be used. For decades, plant genetic resources specialists have pointed out that conserving crop diversity is ...