Comment in 2019

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  • Genomic diversity is a driving force influencing human and animal health, and susceptibility to disease. During the Keystone Symposium on Leveraging Genomic Diversity to Promote Human and Animal Health held in Kampala on Lake Victoria in Uganda, we brought together diverse communities of geneticists with primary objectives to explore areas of common interest, joint technological and methodological developments and applications, and to leverage opportunities for cross-learning. We explored translational genomics research in farmed animals and humans, debated the differences in research objectives in high- and low-resourced environments, delved into infectious diseases and zoonoses affecting humans and animals and considered diversity and cultural context at many levels. The 109 participants were from 22 countries (13 in Africa) and included 44 global travel awardees from 9 countries, equal numbers of men and women, of whom 31 were students and 13 senior investigators.

    • Michèle Ramsay
    • Han G. Brunner
    • Appolinaire Djikeng
    CommentOpen Access
  • Venkatesan and Coskun propose the use of digital posters instead of paper posters for disseminating progress reports in scientific meetings. These digital frames are capable of uploading multiple display items via wireless network and changing the interactive display with wave of a hand over an attached motion sensor.

    • Mythreye Venkatesan
    • Ahmet F. Coskun
    CommentOpen Access
  • It is increasingly recognized that research is most impactful when disseminated to broad audiences within and beyond the scientific community. For children and youth, opportunities to share independent research beyond family and science fair attendees are limited by a lack of appropriate dissemination platforms. This lack of opportunity creates the ‘science fair dilemma’, where the engagement of students with the scientific community is curtailed once science fairs wrap up. Here we discuss this missed opportunity to encourage engagement and skill development of young scientists, and provide a case study of a student centric science journal aimed to tackle these challenges.

    • Rhiannon Ng
    • Kira Slivitzky
    • Dayre McNally
    CommentOpen Access
  • Graphics are becoming increasingly important for scientists to effectively communicate their findings to broad audiences, but most researchers lack expertise in visual media. We suggest collaboration between scientists and graphic designers as a way forward and discuss the results of a pilot project to test this type of collaboration.

    • Colin K. Khoury
    • Yael Kisel
    • Ari Novy
    CommentOpen Access
  • Fabien Pifferi et al. discuss the latest research in using caloric restriction for promoting healthspan and lifespan in primates. Their Comment touches on their previous study, addressing how to combine nutrition-based clinical protocols with interventions to delay the onset of age-related diseases.

    • Fabien Pifferi
    • Jérémy Terrien
    • Fabienne Aujard
    CommentOpen Access
  • Mathew Seymour discusses the current status of using environmental DNA derived directly from natural environments to study biodiversity, and its applications in conservation and ecological research. In his Comment, he explores how eDNA as a technology can foster multi-disciplinary collaboration.

    • Mathew Seymour
    CommentOpen Access
  • Saunders et al. discuss the latest research and strategies used to control wheat stem rust in Western Europe following their report of its recurrence in the UK for the first time in almost 60 years. In their Comment, they hope to build on their previous work to drive innovation in disease management.

    • Diane G. O. Saunders
    • Zacharias A. Pretorius
    • Mogens S. Hovmøller
    CommentOpen Access