Joel Ivan Cohen

Duke University | DU · Nicholas School of the Environment

Conservation of plant genetic resources is achieved by protection of populations in nature (in situ) or by preservation of samples in gene banks (ex situ). The latter are essential for users of germplasm who need ready access. Ex situ conservation also acts as a back-up for certain segments of diversity that might otherwise be lost in nature and in...

A standard part of biology curricula is a project-based assessment of cell structure and function. However, these are often individual assignments that promote little problem-solving or group learning and avoid the subject of organelle chemical interactions. I evaluate a model-based cell project designed to foster group and individual guided inquir...

As part of a short biodiversity unit, a survey was developed for students to express their ethical values regarding conservation of biodiversity or protection of species. The unit spanned four class periods, combining species diversity science, the plight of endangered species and their protection, a living reptile program presented in the classroo...

"Local farming communities throughout the world face binding productivity constraints, diverse nutritional needs, environmental concerns, and significant economic and financial pressures. Developing countries address these challenges in different ways, including public and private sector investments in plant breeding and other modern tools for gene...

This presentation combines lessons learned from studies documenting barriers to scientific achievements placed on women naturalists. Their combined experiences are contrasted with the exploratory and naturalist experiences of Charles Darwin. Secondly, these stories and historic figures are considered in the context of a biology curriculum, where al...

How is it one comes to know of life? For over 350 years, the microscope has been a companion on this journey. The microscope’s origin at various times and places meant it was used widely, and once perfected, it helped overcome our ignorance of disease. It opened previously unseen worlds in a drop of water. It laid the foundation for cell biology. M...

Introduction. What is a canal and what will they become post-2023? Are they solely part of America’s past, reminiscent of a time when waterways were the heart and soul of transport and commerce? If not, then how are canals changing to keep in tune with the times? For a good many decades much of the country depended upon them to ensure a navigable w...

Being first and foremost a plant geneticist specializing in maize, I must admit that when it came to the soil, my most immediate responsibility was to make sure pre-planting amendments were incorporated as recommended. Once those seedlings were up, my focus was almost exclusively on the green plants. But more recently, I taught The Living Soil, a c...

This past week, data collected to populate the most recent Research Gate Update revealed a wished for but until now unexpected trend regarding publications. Why?

Contributions of women naturalists have enriched our scientific understanding of the natural world since the seventeenth century. However, this analysis of natural history compilations shows far more entries from and about men rather than women naturalists, often including none or no more than one to three such contributions. For life science educa...

2022 ANNUAL TRI-SOCIETY MEETING, Baltimore, November 6-9, "INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL MEETING: COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT FOR HEALTHY PEOPLE AND A HEALTHY PLANET." This is the agenda, description and speakers for a symposium that will: enhance understanding of biodiversity & corridors on crop management & conservation, collect and communicate ex...

NOVEMBER 6-9 | BALTIMORE, MARYLAND AND LIMITED VIRTUAL

Restoring the environment, particularly those areas affected by humanity, is no longer a luxury, but rather a survival imperative. However, the means to accomplish such results becomes more often a source of debate than achievement. A symposium scheduled for this year’s International Annual Meeting in Baltimore uses multidisciplinary approaches as...

Contributions of women naturalists have enriched our scientific understanding of the natural world since the seventeenth century. However, this analysis of natural history compilations shows far more entries from and about men rather than naturalists while often including none or no more than two or three contributions from women naturalists. For l...

This is a poem written as a presentation about the lives of E.O. Wilson and Thomas Lovejoy, but just as equally, about the effect these two individuals had on the lives of others.

Abstract. Can the World Food Prize Be Posthumous? Cohen, J.I. 2021. CSA News. News and Perspectives. November 2021. Pages 30-31. DOI: 10.1002/csan.20618 Before 56 years had come and gone, a career and life ended, long before its time. It was 26 Jan. 1943 when Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov passed away in Russia’s Saratov City Prison; no longer seen by...

The first segment of this two-part feature introduced the topic of conservation and artfully conveyed the release of the Heritage Breeds Forever stamps (Scott #5583-5592). In this segment, the story continues with a summary of the steps taken over many years that gradually moved the United States Postal Service (USPS) to conceive and approve of wil...

This is a copy of the full program for the 1988 Beltsville Symposium XIII, "Biotic Diversity and Germplasm Preservation - Global Imperatives." Held May 9-11, 1988 at the BARC.

“But the post office has been stolen And the mailbox is locked.” --– Bob Dylan The United States Postal Service (USPS) is experiencing unprecedented difficulties, and yet, through it all, postal representatives completed a compelling and important first day ceremony, calling attention to species endangered by our own actions. Introduction and Obje...

1. Title: The Capital’s Corridor: From Purveyor of Goods to Conservation Corridor 2. Summary: This presentation will discuss “the relevance of historic canals to today” through a chronological series of canal. The presentation will illustrate how the historical aspects of the C&O Canal quite literally laid the groundwork for corridor connectivity,...

Naturalists enrich our scientific understanding of biodiversity. However, just as countries have fallen behind on commitments to provide biodiversity conservation funding, so has the focus of life science stayed arm’s length. The purpose of this article is to consider why biodiversity should be the center of life sciences education and how biograph...

NGSS guidance indicates that a life science curriculum' s unit on evolution must include the concepts of geologic ages, endangered species, Anthropocene extinction, and biodiversity. Enrichment lessons and labs deepen student understanding of key standards. This lesson enriches students by presenting a real-world opportunity for species conservatio...

Field, Lab, Earth episode, “Nikolai Vavilov with Dr. Joel Cohen

In the United States, the transition from unchecked hunting, habitat loss, and species endangerment to an ongoing environmental awakening has been examined through various lenses. Despite this gradual perspective shift, recent reports continue to warn of global declines in species and habitat diversity. As the need for biodiversity conservation gro...

Dr. Joel Cohen’s (Visiting Scholar at the Nicholas School for the Environment at Duke University, North Carolina, USA) career in life science education builds on prior research, international agricultural service, and more recently, maintaining a biodiverse planet. This last passion brought him to his current position. His ongoing commitment is to...

Providing hands-on topics ranging from the microscopic to Anthropocene extinctions drives the work of Dr. Joel I. Cohen when educating biologists and citizens. He advocates for his students to develop a sense of purpose in science, very much agreeing with E.O. Wilson that instead, people are “presented with an intellectual triathlon in order to go...

The accomplishments of Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov continue to be studied almost eighty years after his tragic death. In some ways, it is as if we have not put him to rest, so upsetting is the loss of such an individual. But we must not forget all that Vavilov accomplished in his lifetime, and as “diversity’s geographer,” he ushered in new ways of th...

The accomplishments of Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov continue to be studied almost eighty years after his tragic death. In some ways, it is as if we have not put him to rest, so upsetting is the loss of such an individual. But we must not forget all that Vavilov accomplished in his lifetime, and as “diversity’s geographer,” he ushered in new ways of th...

Nikolai Vavilov was an agronomist and seed collector whose life spanned the regimes of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. These were years plagued by extreme famine, especially in the Ukraine, during which time Vavilov strove to follow Mendelian science and practices to improve plant breeding programs, seed conservation, and food security. He travel...

Today, however, the canal environs transport something entirely different – life itself, in the form of seeds and pollen, species and migrations, extending their boundaries from north to south or south to north. These living parts of the environs can now make their way through five geographic “provinces,” beginning with the Coastal Plain in Georget...

Citation: Cohen, J.I. 2021. The Capital's Corridor: Chesapeake And Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Part 1. National Parks Traveler. February 10, 2021. https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2021/02/capitals-corridor-chesapeake-and-ohio-canal-national-historical-park Today, some 170 years after the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal opened, the once pl...

In 1941, Nikolai Vavilov was imprisoned just after his election as President of the International Congress on Genetics. How could a prominent Russian geneticist and plant explorer simultaneously earn distinction and animosity? This is directly answered by Stalin using Vavilov as a scapegoat for the failure of collective farming, declining yields, a...

p>Enriching our scientific understanding of the biological world has been a major contribution of naturalists. However, while contributions from individuals such as Charles Darwin are both well-known and taught, those of female naturalists remain relatively unknown and have not entered curriculum. This absence means fewer options available to teach...

p>Enriching our scientific understanding of the biological world has been a major contribution of naturalists. However, while contributions from individuals such as Charles Darwin are both well-known and taught, those of female naturalists remain relatively unknown and have not entered curriculum. This absence means fewer options available to teach...

Please submit a short chapter (1000 - 1500 words) on any aspect of using humor in the classroom (e.g. practical examples, advantages, risks, fun-to-know tips and techniques etc.). Please feel free to entirely focus on classroom humor or you can write about other classroom/teaching strategies which help become a more effective teacher. Please also f...

The following pages are part of an ongoing project and paper on natural history. They consist of anthologies, produced from 1944 to the present, reviewed here to determine the emergence of female naturalists. This facilitates use in science curriculum presently lacking such exposure. Box 2 (below) explains the format for each page, Box 3 (right) is...

As per NGSS guidance, a life science curriculum’s unit on evolution includes the concepts of geologic ages, endangered species, Anthropocene extinction, and biodiversity. Enrichment lessons/labs deepen student understanding of key standards. This lesson enriches students by presenting them with a real-world opportunity for species conservation. To...

In April 2020, the USPS commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day. It did so with a simply designed blue and green forever stamp (Sc 5459) to remind us of those who, “come together annually to raise awareness about the natural world,” (USPS 2020; Figure 1). It is a day of celebration that has as much to do with the steadfast courage of Rac...

The Arbor Day stamp of 1932 commemorated one of the nation’s first conservation acts. Twenty-four years would pass before new wildlife conservation commemoratives were issued. These resulted from concerns over diminishing natural resources, President Eisenhower’s intervention in Postal System priorities, and increasing public awareness of the lack...

In this second installment of America’s Conservation Saga, covering the period from the 1940s to 1971, we continue to document the role stamps played in calling attention to critically important environmental and conservation issues. The primary focus of this segment is on the contributions made to these efforts by two noteworthy individuals – Rach...

Negro Leagues Baseball: A Return to Glory, Until Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947, black players played exclusively in the Negro Leagues, which rivaled Major League Baseball in talent and excitement – but the teams and players have until recently been only a side note in baseball history. Joel Cohen brings the history of the...

Microscopy is not specifically mentioned in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and consequently secondary education limits its use to learning parts, procedures, and observing fixed specimen slides. However, when alternative approaches (See Section IV in this paper) are encouraged, microscopy provides opportunities for hands-on learning,...

Humans have never lived consecutively with dinosaurs, despite the images that Jurassic Park has left in our collective consciousness. However, had that happened, humans most probably would not have survived. Dinosaurs would be the predominant species on earth, and yet, despite this nearly certain outcome, the images of the Tyrannosaurus rex hunting...

This issue of The United States Specialist marks the final installment of the articles commemorating Jackie Robinson on the centenary of his birth. This, the third part of the series, explores the philatelic legacy afforded to Jackie Robinson, with a primarily focus on the first stamp issued (in 1982), honoring the centenary of his birth, and revie...

This article is the second segment of three, each focusing on specific aspects of United States Postal Service (USPS) stamps issued in honor of Jackie Robinson, or those stamps that highlight particular aspects of his career and the world of baseball.

Suspect for State’s Case Number 1500 sat in his cell, facing unending days of solitary confinement and interrogation, accused of spying “for foreign intelligence services.” Alone, seized and imprisoned, he worried about his work, the seeds collected from all over the world, his legacy, his institute. Suddenly he realized how large a burden he had b...

This article is the first segment of three, each focusing on specific aspects of United States Postal Service (USPS) stamps issued in honor of Jackie Robinson, or those stamps that highlight particular aspects of his career and the world of baseball. The segment titles are: Part I. Ballplayer and Humanitarian – Jackie Robinson’s 1982 Stamp Emerges...

Citation: Cohen, J.I. 2019. Commemorating Nikolai I. Vavilov – A Personal Study of Philatelics, History and Science. ROSSICA (Spring 2019) No. 172: 119-125. This paper presents widely unknown Russian postals of the famous geneticist Nikolai I. Vavilov (1887-1943) in the hope of introducing both him and these philatelics to new audiences. The study...

Between 1980 and 1985, the United States Postal Service issued the first stamps in the “Great Americans Series.” The individuals selected for this group, plus others from later time periods, would gradually add up to the largest set of “face different” definitive stamps issued by the United States. This series is now noted for its heterogeneous sel...

Confronting the Biodiversity Crisis: Instruction, Engagement, and Conservation.

Introduction In 1836, Charles Darwin returned to England with finches classified and seemingly showing little resemblance. However, subsequent examination by John Gould revealed 13 closely related species endemic to the Galápagos Islands. Despite initial confusion, and Darwin’s overlooking to label these birds by island, some 100 years later they h...

Introduction Historical biographies facilitate teaching the ‘nature of science’. This case study focuses on how Nikolai Vavilov’s unrelenting sense of purpose, courage, and charismatic personality was maintained during violent revolutionary change in Russia. Case description The rediscovery of Gregor Mendel’s laws of inheritance provided Vavilov w...

The importance of extant biodiversity, concerns regarding the rising Anthropocene extinction rates, and commitments made by signatories to biodiversity conventions each increase demands for timely data. However, as species and conservation indicators become more complex, the less accessible they are to educators. New pedagogies are needed so that s...

This is a unique approach to foreshadowing the coming discussions on homologous structures by using the similarities of the human arm and chicken wing, as visualized through a dissection. Citation: Cohen, J.I. 2016. Chicken Wing Dissection: Organ Systems and Homologous Structures - Addressing NGSS Core Idea ”From Molecules to Organisms.” SciEduAsso...

Lesson plan for one of four different cell types, for engaging students in modelling a cell to visualize how cell works as one integrated system.

A means for measuring time lines for endangered species declines or recoveries serves as an entry point for evaluating ecosystem health and reversal of threats arising from human intrusions. Following presentation and review of an example scenario to the class, students then use guided inquiry to determine their own species of interest, its habitat...

Using models helps students learn from a “whole systems” perspective when studying the cell. This paper describes a model that employs guided inquiry and requires consensus building among students for its completion. The model is interactive, meaning that it expands upon a static model which, once completed, cannot be altered and additionally relat...

Scientists, research directors, and policymakers face complex questions and decisions when managing intellectual property rights (IPR) for agricultural research. This chapter discusses the impact of IPR in a biotechnological context. It explains differences between principal categories of IPR relevant to agricultural research: plant variety rights,...

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To derive benefits from biotechnology, research should relate to development needs and offer practical benefits. For Africa, research should focus on improving the quality and standard of agriculture, increasing yield stability, and ensuring sustainable productivity. The desired benefits of biotechnology will only be possible if conventional agricu...

B iotechnology provides new opportunities for achieving productivity gains in agriculture. However, mobilizing modern biotechnology to address food and agricultural needs in developing countries implies increased responsibilities for determining benefits and risks. This paper examines capacity and efficiencies of national regulatory systems through...

http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v25/n7/full/nbt0707-728.html Seeds for the Future: The Impact of Genetically Modified Crops by Jennifer A Thomson Cornell University Press: 2007 208 pp. $24.95

This article presents findings from two studies of public-sector research on agricultural biotechnology. The first focuses on national agricultural research organisations and universities in developing countries, while the second focuses on public–private research collaborations with international agricultural research centres. Findings suggest tha...

The maize community includes many disciplines: from evolution, genetics, plant breeding, biochemistry, and molecular genetics. This commemorative issue is in honor of Walton Galinat, a botanist, evolutionist, and geneticist. He has spent a career in interpreting the corn grain, corn plant and leaf orientation and an interpretation of the evolution...

This paper investigates to what extent the public policy and investment environments across the African continent are enabling the research, development and dissemination of agbiotech and GM crops. Using data from two surveys on agricultural research, this article examines the scope, magnitude and effectiveness of agbiotech and GM crop research in...

Can public policies and research institutions in the developing world provide safe and useful genetically modified (GM) food crops? This is an urgent question, recognizing that advancing GM crops in the developing world is difficult and affected by global debate and regulatory protocols. Moving from small confined experimental trials to larger, ope...

Orphan crops are critical to developing country strategies for poverty alleviation. However, some productivity constraints of orphan crops cannot be addressed by conventional research, but potentially through genetically modified (GM) crops. These undergo biosafety regulatory assessment in-country. Significant scientific and regulatory gaps exist f...

Findings from two studies on agricultural research indicate that although developing countries invest in agricultural biotechnology and genetically modified crop research, their policy and investment environments inhibit the contribution of such research to agricultural development and poverty reduction. Findings suggest that valuable private-secto...

"The regulatory approval of genetically modified crops in the field initially requires small, restricted experimental trials known as confined field trials. These small scale experiments provide researchers with important information on environmental interactions and agronomic performance of the crop in a safe and contained manner. To authorize con...

Resolving hunger and poverty requires many diverse interventions. In certain cases, use of genetically modified (GM) crops can play a role. Rapid adoption of GM crops has occurred for those incorporating traits most relevant for industrial or market oriented farming. Some private sector GM crops are also found in specific regions of Asian countries...

Genetically modified crops are often framed as the products of multinational corporations, but in poorer nations it is public research that is vibrant and attempting their development.

Can public policies and research institutions in African countries provide safe and useful genetically modified (GM) food crops? This is an urgent question, recognizing that advancing GM food crops can be difficult, affected by global debate, and various regulatory protocols. Reaching farmers has been achieved in several countries only for GM cotto...

Can public policies and research institutions in African countries provide safe and useful genetically modified (GM) food crops? This is an urgent question, recognizing that advancing GM food crops can be difficult, affected by global debate, and various regulatory protocols. Reaching farmers has been achieved in several countries only for GM cotto...

Disputes continue to flare over acceptable safety standards for biotechnology products, and the potential for these technologies to address agricultural needs. Benefits have been documented for a limited number of genetically modified (GM) crops, however, official permission to plant GM seeds in developing countries has not been granted in most cou...

Local farming communities throughout the world face productivity constraints, environmental concerns, and diverse nutritional needs. Developing countries address these challenges in a number of ways. One way is public research that produces genetically modified (GM) crops and recognize biotechnology as a part of the solution. To reach these communi...

The role of biotechnology as a tool for promoting agricultural productivity in the developing countries under current and future climatic conditions is described, with emphasis on the role of genetic engineering of crops for improved yield and environmental tolerance. The potential of biomass crops as sources of renewable energy in the future, and...

Adequate public research capacity is key to the appropriate development of biotechnology, including genetically modified (GM) crops. While commercial crops can be introduced without intensive local research (i.e. insect resistant GM cotton), introducing products of public research depend on indigenous capacity. This paper defines capacity for agric...

"Local farming communities throughout the world face productivity constraints, environmental concerns, and diverse nutritional needs. Developing countries address these challenges in a number of ways. One way is public research that produces genetically modified (GM) crops and recognize biotechnology as a part of the solution. To reach these commun...

"In the developing world the approval and cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops is largely limited to the commercial production of insect-resistant cotton in Argentina, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa.... Approvals of GM crops used for food or feed lag far behind cotton... This gap in approvals is unfortunate, because crop biotechno...

Recent advances in agricultural applications of modern biotechnology show a significant potential to contribute to sustainable gains in agricultural productivity, reducing poverty and enhancing food security in developing countries. As these innovations are increasingly adopted, impact assessment becomes a critical tool for addressing potential soc...

Agricultural food and feed crops improved through recombinant DNA are grown widely on farms in wealthy countries such as the USA and Canada, but are scarcely grown anywhere in the poor developing world. The reasons often given for this slow uptake of genetically modified (GM) crops in developing countries include weak scientific capacity, intellect...