Manipulating how plants express their genes holds the promise of higher crop yields and better performance under drought or other environmental stress. UNL plant scientist Sally Mackenzie is harnessing her breakthrough to improve crops important to developing countries. Mackenzie discovered that using a transformation technique to turn off a specific gene found in most plants […]

The UNL Chapter of Sigma Xi, the science and engineering honorary society, has announced the winners of its 2009 awards for outstanding researchers, outstanding graduate student, and outstanding science librarian. Recipients being honored are: Sally Mackenzie, professor of Agronomy and Horticulture, has been selected for the Outstanding Scientist Award for international recognition on the genomes […]

Unlike animals, plants don’t have a fight or flight response to handle threats from their environment. But UNL research is showing they have the next best thing: the ability to adapt to hostile surroundings using a “genetic bag of tricks.” If plant geneticists can figure out how to manipulate these changes artificially, they may be […]

Europeans may be on the verge of reassessing their long-held resistance to genetically modified crops, and Nebraska could play a role in that shift, a UNL plant geneticist said. Sally Mackenzie, who directs UNL’s Center for Plant Science Innovation, recently returned from trip to Brussels, Belgium, as part of a delegation led by Gov. Dave […]