It's the Flu Game!

Matt's a bit under the weather in this episode, but that won't stop his awesome commentary (see connection to Michael Jordan)! Today, Matt and Erin talk about a new research development with soybean aphid. The entire genome was recently sequenced; see journal paper). This is only the fourth aphid genome to be sequenced so far. Colleagues, Drs. Brad Coates and Andy Michael, helped generate data for this journal article. Matt explains the reasoning for sequencing the genome of pest species like soybean aphid. Once we have a better understanding of the genetic makeup of a pest, we can try to disrupt it and make them less successful. Then, Erin shares some recent questions coming to her from around Iowa - particularly if snow cover can help insects survive the winter.