How plants are learning to spot sneaky bacterial invaders

With help from AI, researchers upgraded plants’ internal alarm system to fend off pathogens

University of California - Davis

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Ralstonia solanacearum in a potato plant. The bacterium destroys the vascular system in plants, causing them to succumb to wilt disease.

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Credit: Amilcar Sanchez Perez

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, used artificial intelligence to help plants recognize a wider range of bacterial threats — which may lead to new ways to protect crops like tomatoes and potatoes from devastating diseases. The study was published in Nature Plants. 

Plants, like animals, have immune systems. Part of their defense toolkit includes immune receptors, which give them the ability to detect bacteria and defend against it. One of those receptors, called FLS2, helps plants recognize flagellin — a protein in the tiny tails bacteria use to swim. But bacteria are sneaky and constantly evolving to avoid detection. 

"Bacteria are in an arms race with their plant hosts, and they can change the underlying amino acids in flagellin to evade detection," said lead author Gitta Coaker, professor in the Department of Plant Pathology. 

To help plants keep up, Coaker’s team turned to using natural variation coupled with artificial intelligence — specifically AlphaFold, a tool developed to predict the 3D shape of proteins and reengineered FLS2, essentially upgrading its immune system to catch more intruders. 

The team focused on receptors already known to recognize more bacteria, even if they weren’t found in useful crop species. By comparing them with more narrowly focused receptors, the researchers were able to identify which amino acids to change. 

“We were able to resurrect a defeated receptor, one where the pathogen has won, and enable the plant to have a chance to resist infection in a much more targeted and precise way,” Coaker said.

Why it matters

Coaker said this opens the door to developing broad-spectrum disease resistance in crops using predictive design.

One of the researchers’ targets is a major crop threat: Ralstonia solanacearum, the cause of bacterial wilt. Some strains of the soil-borne pathogen can infect more than 200 plant species, including staple crops like tomato and potato.

Looking ahead, the team is developing machine learning tools to predict which immune receptors are worth editing in the future. They’re also trying to narrow down the number of amino acids that need to be changed.

This approach could be used to boost the perception capability of other immune receptors using a similar strategy.

Other authors of the study include Tianrun Li, Esteban Jarquin Bolaños, Danielle M. Stevens and Hanxu Sha of UC Davis and Daniil M. Prigozhin of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture.

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Journal

Nature Plants

DOI

10.1038/s41477-025-02049-y 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Article Title

Unlocking expanded flagellin perception through rational receptor engineering

Article Publication Date

28-Jul-2025

 

Science by the millions: How everyday people are revolutionizing global biodiversity research with tech

University of Florida

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Burrowing owls in nature

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Credit: Brittany Mason

A frog croaks from a walking trail. A hiker snaps a photo and uploads it to iNaturalist. That single act — one person, one amphibian and one click — feeds into a growing global dataset that scientists now use to map shifting species ranges, detect invasive threats and even discover new species.

An international study led by researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) shows how iNaturalist, the global technology platform through which everyday people share wildlife photos via a website and an app, is doing far more than connecting users with nature. It’s rapidly becoming a cornerstone of scientific research.

“The scientific use of iNaturalist has grown tenfold in five years, closely tracking the platform’s data growth,” said Brittany Mason, lead author and data management analyst at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (FLREC). “This suggests that increasing observations, especially in less-documented geographic areas and lesser-studied species groups, can further expand its research applications.”

“Until now, the scientific value of iNaturalist has been recognized in isolated case studies, like how a user rediscovered a century-lost Vietnamese snail, how the data are used to provide high-resolution maps of plants or how iNaturalist is becoming critical for early detection of invasive species,” said Corey Callaghan, senior author of the study, and an assistant professor of global ecology at FLREC.

Those examples remained somewhat isolated until now.

“This study is the first to systematically assess the full scope of how iNaturalist data are being used in research,” said Mason.

To do this, the research team assessed how technology is being used and which geographic areas and scientific questions the data are being used for. The findings

emphasize how platforms like iNaturalist allow anybody armed with a smart phone to gather data and help scientists.

“Millions of people are now directly shaping how we understand and conserve biodiversity,” said Callaghan. The study reveals several trends in shaping and enhancing the future of biodiversity science.

First, the dominant use of iNaturalist in species distribution modeling and range mapping points to the platform’s utility in tracking how organisms are spread across the planet. Second, the use of images uploaded to iNaturalist is on the rise in scientific research, providing new insights into species behavior, coloration and habitat preferences. Third, the exponential rise in scholarly articles using iNaturalist data suggests that as participation grows — particularly in underrepresented regions and among lesser-studied species groups — so, too, will its impact on science.

Launched in 2008, the platform is a non-profit organization and allows users to upload photographs or audio recordings of plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms, along with data on time and place.

A community of contributors vet observations, and those verified as “Research Grade” are shared with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, an international database working as a clearinghouse for all biodiversity records.

The study shows that everyday people contributing their observations through iNaturalist are making meaningful contributions to scientific knowledge. “Millions of people are helping scientists track biodiversity in ways that would be impossible through traditional scientific fieldwork alone.” said Carrie Seltzer, the iNaturalist head of engagement, who was not associated with the study.

Those meaningful contributions come from 128 countries and 638 groups of species, illustrating the truly global impact on biodiversity research. Research topics range from conservation planning and habitat modeling to education, machine learning and species discovery. Authors also noted the platform is also being used by conservation agencies like the International Union for Conservation of Nature to assess the status of threatened species and track the spread of invasive organisms.

“By contributing observations and identifications, everyday citizens become key players in tackling one of the planet’s most pressing challenges: biodiversity loss,” said Callaghan. “Now, an important frontier remains to really understand how iNaturalist data can be strategically paired with other biodiversity data to continue to inform biodiversity and conservation work in the future.”

The study, published in BioScience, involved researchers from 15 institutions across the United States, Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany and South Korea. Contributing institutions include the University of Florida, UNSW Sydney, Meise Botanic Garden, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, the University of Münster and Changwon National University, among others.

Photo of a snake captured on a phone and uploaded to iNaturalist

Credit

Brittany Mason

Journal

BioScience

DOI

10.1093/biosci/biaf104 

DISEASE + TARIFFS

Hershey and other chocolate makers hike prices as cocoa remains near record highs

By The Associated Press
Published: July 23, 2025 

The Hershey Company's new manufacturing plant in Hershey, Pa., April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Here’s the good news: The Hershey Co. says it’s not raising prices for Halloween candy this year.

But here’s the bad news: Hershey and other chocolate makers are continuing to hike prices, saying a volatile cocoa market gives them no choice.

Hershey, the maker of Reese’s, Whoppers, barkThins and other chocolate candies, said Wednesday that it will be raising U.S. retail prices later this fall. In some cases, pack sizes will get smaller; in others, list prices will rise. The average price increase will be in the low double-digit percentages.

“This change is not related to tariffs or trade policies. It reflects the reality of rising ingredient costs including the unprecedented cost of cocoa,” Hershey said in a statement.

Hershey stressed that the price increases won’t apply to products specially packaged for Halloween.

On Tuesday, Swiss chocolatier Lindt said it raised prices by 15.8 per cent in the first half of this year. The company said it was able to offset some of the higher cost of cocoa with long-term contracts but had to pass much of it on to consumers.

“The development of the global chocolate market in the first half of 2025 was a continuation of what we saw in 2024, with cocoa prices remaining close to record highs,” said Adalbert Lechner, Lindt’s CEO, in a conference call with investors.

Cloetta, a Swedish confectionary company, told investors last week that it raised chocolate prices in the second quarter. And Nestle raised U.S. prices for products like Toll House chocolate chips in the spring.

Cocoa prices have more than doubled over the past two years due to poor weather and disease in West Africa, which supplies more than 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa.Trade War coverage on BNNBloomberg.ca

Cocoa futures, which are binding contracts for a specific quantity of cocoa, stood at US$7,380 per metric ton on Wednesday, according to the International Cocoa Organization, which releases a daily average of prices in London and New York.

That’s down from December’s peak of US$11,984, but it’s still 121 per cent higher than two years ago.

And the situation remains volatile. According to the International Cocoa Organization, prices surged in early June on concerns about production in Ivory Coast but eased on optimistic forecasts for production in Ghana and Latin America. They rose again in late June after heavy rains in West Africa, which could worsen the outbreak of diseases that harm crops.

“It’s almost a bit dangerous to comment on this because it’s changing so fast,” Cloetta Chief Financial Officer Frans Ryden said last week in a conference call with investors. “This is something that’s moving hugely up and down all the time.”

Meanwhile, prices have been rising on store shelves. The average unit price of a chocolate bar in the U.S. in July 2021 was US$2.43, according to Nielsen IQ, a market research company. As of last week, it was US$3.45, a 41 per cent increase.

That’s hurting customer demand. Nielsen said unit sales of chocolate fell 1.2 per cent in the year ending July 12.

Tariffs could also impact U.S. prices. President Donald Trump threatened a 21 per cent tariff on cocoa and other products from Ivory Coast in April, for example, but then paused the tariffs’ implementation.

The National Confectioners Association is asking the Trump administration to protect cocoa from tariffs. The group says the U.S. imports nearly US$4.4 billion in chocolate, cocoa and candies each year, and the association’s members export nearly US$2 billion in American-made chocolates and candy annually.

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Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press

Visa, Mastercard set for higher profits on solid spending trends

By Reuters
Published: July 28, 2025

FILE - A Visa sign and MasterCard sign are displayed on a store window. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Visa and Mastercard are expected to report higher quarterly profits this week on steady consumer spending, and analysts will scrutinize how demand for travel and discretionary purchases is shaping up in the face of tariff uncertainty.

The results from the world’s biggest payment processors will help flesh out the broader financial outlook that major banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo presented earlier this month, signaling a resilient consumer.

“Visa and Mastercard remain top ideas, particularly in an uncertain macro environment, given their broad-based exposure to discretionary and non-discretionary spend, geographic reach, and proven ability to stabilize their expense increase in downturns,” Oppenheimer analysts said in a note.

Billions of people worldwide use Visa and Mastercard for their everyday spending and other purchases, making the card networks better equipped to weather downturns. They also have more expense flexibility to support profit growth.

In recent years, the companies have diversified their business model by building out value-added services such as threat intelligence and fraud reduction.


Still, some analysts expect a potential spending slowdown in the back half of 2025. Cross-border travel, a high-margin business for payments companies, has come under some pressure due to trade tensions and geopolitical risks.

Slower travel from Canada to the U.S. and fresh tensions in the Middle East in June have raised concerns over a potential drag on growth.

Analysts will also examine whether elevated volumes are being driven by a pull-forward in spending, as consumers pre-purchase goods they expect to get costlier after tariffs are imposed.

In the second quarter, total card spending volumes modestly increased across bank issuers. Across credit and debit cards, Bank of America showed an increase of 110 basis points, while JPMorgan Chase showed a 40 bps rise, according to data compiled by RBC Capital Markets.

“On balance and relative to expectations, data seems neutral for the networks and acquirers, considering overall spending trends appear at least stable compared to last quarter’s growth, which we think should be good enough considering the macroeconomic volatility since last quarter’s earnings,” J.P. Morgan analysts said in a note.

Investors will also zero in on the forecast around stablecoins. While both the card giants plan to launch products linked to the cryptocurrency, the recent passing of the Genius Act has raised some concern that stablecoins could eliminate the need for payment intermediaries in the long term.

Visa, the larger of the two by market value, will announce quarterly results after markets close on Tuesday, while Mastercard will report on Thursday.

American Express surpassed quarterly profit expectations earlier this month, helped by resilient spending by its affluent customer base.

Visa and Mastercard shares have gained nearly 13 per cent and eight per cent year-to-date as of Friday’s close, respectively, while the benchmark S&P 500 index has gained 8.6 per cent.


(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

Trump is getting the world economy he wants - but the risk to growth could spoil his victory lap

By The Associated Press
Published: July 28, 2025 

President Donald Trump reads from a paper and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen listens after reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and the EU at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump is getting his way with the world economy.

Trading partners from the European Union to Japan to Vietnam appear to be acceding to the president’s demands to accept higher costs — in the form of high tariffs — for the privilege of selling their wares to the United States.

For Trump, the agreements driven by a mix of threats and cajoling, are a fulfillment of a decades-long belief in protectionism and a massive gamble that it will pay off politically and economically with American consumers.

On Sunday, the United States and the 27-member state European Union announced that they had reached a trade framework agreement: The EU agreed to accept 15% U.S. tariffs on most its goods, easing fears of a catastrophic trans-Atlantic trade war.

There were also commitments by the EU to buy $750 billion in U.S. energy products and make $600 billion in new investments through 2028, according to the White House.


“We just signed a very big trade deal, the biggest of them all,” Trump said Monday.

But there’s no guarantee that Trump’s radical overhaul of U.S. trade policy will deliver the happy ending he’s promised. The framework agreement was exceedingly spare on details. Most trade deals require months and even years of painstaking negotiation that rise and fall on granular details.
High-stakes negotiations break Trump’s way

Financial markets, at first panicked by the president’s protectionist agenda, seem to have acquiesced to a world in which U.S. import taxes — tariffs — are at the highest rates they’ve been in roughly 90 years.

Several billion in new revenues from his levies on foreign goods are pouring into the U.S. Treasury and could somewhat offset the massive tax cuts he signed into law on July 4.

Outside economists say that high tariffs are still likely to raise prices for American consumers, dampen the Federal Reserve’s ability to lower interest rates and make the U.S. economy less efficient over time. Democrats say the middle class and poor will ultimately pay for the tariffs.

“It’s pretty striking that it’s seen as a sigh of relief moment,” said Daniel Hornung, a former Biden White House economic official who now holds fellowships at Housing Finance Policy Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “But if the new baseline across all trading partners is 15%, that is a meaningful drag on growth that increases recession risks, while simultaneously making it harder for the Fed to cut.”

The EU agreement came just four days after Japan also agreed to 15% U.S. tariffs and to invest in the United States. Earlier, the United States reached deals that raised tariffs on imports from Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom considerably from where they’d been before Trump returned to the White House.

More one-sided trade deals are likely as countries try to beat a Friday deadline after which Trump will impose even higher tariffs on countries that refuse to make concessions.
Trump’s long-held theory now faces reality

The U.S. president has long claimed that America erred by not taking advantage of its clout as the world’s biggest economy and erecting a wall of tariffs, in effect making other countries ante up for access to America’s massive consumer market.


To his closest aides, Trump’s use of tariffs has validated their trust in his skills as a negotiator and their belief that the economists who warned of downturns and inflation were wrong. Stocks dipped slightly in Monday afternoon trading, but they’ve more than recovered from the tariff-induced selloff in April.

“Where are the ‘experts’ now?” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posted on X.

But the story is not over. For one thing, many of the details of Trump’s trade deals remain somewhat hazy and have not been captured in writing. The U.S. and Japan, for instance, have offered differing descriptions of Japan’s agreement to invest $550 billion in the United States.

“The trade deals do seem to count as a qualified win for Trump, with other countries giving the U.S. favorable trade terms while accepting U.S. tariffs,” said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University economist. “However, certain terms of the deals, such as other countries’ investments in the U.S., seem more promising in the abstract than they might prove in reality over time.’’

Trump is also facing a court challenge from states and businesses arguing that the president overstepped his authority by declaring national emergencies to justify the tariffs on most of the world’s economies.

In May, a federal court struck down those tariffs. And an appeals court, which agreed to let the government continue collecting the tariffs for now, will hear oral arguments in the case Thursday.

And he’s yet to reach an accord with China — which has deftly used the threat of retaliatory tariffs and withholding exports of rare earth minerals that are desperately needed for electric vehicles, computer chips and wind turbines to avoid caving in to Trump’s demands. The U.S. and China are talking this week in Stockholm, Sweden.
Economists remain skeptical of the impacts for U.S. consumers

There is also skepticism that tariffs will produce the economic boom claimed by Trump.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley said “the most likely outcome is slow growth and firm inflation,” but not a recession. After all, the 15% tariffs on the EU and Japan are a slight increase from the 10% rate that Trump began charging in April during a negotiation period.

While autos made in the EU and Japan will no longer face the 25% tariffs Trump had imposed, they will still face a 15% tax that has yet to appear in prices at U.S. dealerships. The administration has said the lack of auto price increases suggests that foreign producers are absorbing the costs, but it might ultimately just reflect the buildup of auto inventories to front-run the import taxes.

“Dealers built stocks ahead of tariff implementation, damping the immediate impact on retail prices. That cushion is starting to wear thin,” Morgan Stanley said in a separate note. “Our Japan auto analyst notes that as pre-tariff inventory clears, replacement vehicles will likely carry higher price tags.”

Economist Mary Lovely of the Peterson Institute for International Economics warned of a “slow-burn efficiency loss’’ as U.S. companies scramble to adjust to Trump’s new world. For decades, American companies have mostly paid the same tariffs – and often none at all – on imported machinery and raw materials from all over the world.

Now, as a result of Trump’s trade deals, tariffs vary by country. “U.S. firms have to change their designs and get inputs from different places based on these variable tariff rates,’’ she said. “It’s an incredible administrative burden. There’s all these things that are acting as longer-term drags on economy, but their effect will show up only slowly.’’

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said that the United States’ effective tariff rate has risen to 17.5% from around 2.5% at the start of the year.

“I wouldn’t take a victory lap,’’ Zandi said. ”The economic damage caused by the higher tariffs will mount in the coming months.’’

Josh Boak and Paul Wiseman, The Associated Press

 

One in 11 older Canadians has experienced depression, University of Toronto study finds

New research highlights how childhood adversities, chronic health conditions, and sense of purpose are associated with mental health in later life

University of Toronto

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Toronto, Canada – A new study of 3,500 Canadians aged 55 and older revealed a strong association between early childhood adversities and depression. Experiencing physical abuse in childhood was linked to a threefold increase in the likelihood of lifetime depression, while exposure to sexual abuse or parental domestic violence more than doubled the risk.

The University of Toronto research was published recently in Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Plus.

“Our findings shine a light on how trauma in the earliest years can echo through decades, shaping patterns of mental health and well-being,” says the first author, Megha Goel, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW) and the Institute of Life Course and Aging (ILCA).

The researchers also found that a strong sense of purpose matters: Individuals who rarely felt life had meaning were more likely to suffer from depression.

“This research reinforces what many people intuitively know—when we feel disconnected from purpose, our mental health suffers,” said Goel. “And the good news is, meaning is something we can build and nurture.”

Physical health was another important correlate of lifetime depression. People with three or more chronic physical health conditions had 5 times the prevalence of lifetime depression compared to their peers without any chronic conditions.  

“The mind and body are deeply connected—especially as we age. These findings make the case for more holistic healthcare for older populations,” says senior author Esme Fuller-Thomson, Director of University of Toronto’s ILCA and a professor in the FIFSW and the Department of Family & Community Medicine.

The study’s findings also indicated that middle-aged adults 55 to 64 years-old were twice as likely to have experienced depression at some point in their life compared to Canadians aged 65 and older (12.8% vs 6.1%). This was surprising, as the older group had a longer lifespan during which depression could have developed.

Consistent with previous studies, women had much higher prevalence of lifetime depression than their male peers (11.6% vs 6.6%).

The finding that one in 11 older adults has a lifetime history of depression underlines the importance of ensuring that individuals experiencing depression at any age receive timely and effective interventions. Although the study was not designed to evaluate the effectiveness of any intervention to address depression, “many previous studies indicate that a particularly promising intervention for depression is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),” said Dr. Fuller-Thomson.   

As was outlined in the article, CBT is a talk-based, goal-oriented therapy typically delivered over 8-12 one-hour weekly sessions. It aims to reduce depressive symptoms through a collaborative, problem-solving approach, helping individuals identify, challenge, and restructure maladaptive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. “CBT has demonstrated efficacy across age groups, equipping individuals with practical skills that extend beyond therapy and fostering lifelong coping strategies. Digital delivery of CBT via the internet or telephone can help reach underserved older communities by reducing transportation barriers and addressing mobility limitations and reducing costs,” highlighted Fuller-Thomson.

The study was based on a nationally representative sample of Canadians aged 55 and older who participated in the 2022 Canadian Mental Health Access to Care Survey.

“Our research shows that the roots of depression in later life are complex and deeply interconnected,” says Goel. “Early life experiences, ongoing physical health challenges, and even whether someone feels a sense of meaning in their day-to-day life all play a role. These findings underscore the importance of a holistic, lifelong approach to mental health.”

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Journal

Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Plus

DOI

10.1016/j.aggp.2025.100187 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Examining early adversities, demographic, health and psychosocial factors associated with lifetime depression among older Canadians: Findings from a nationally representative study

Article Publication Date

23-Jul-2025

 

Normal hormone levels trigger severe depression in some women; researcher discovers mechanism

Dr. David Rubinow's "differential sensitivity" finding revolutionized reproductive psychiatry treatment

Genomic Press

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David Rubinow, MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.

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Credit: David Rubinow, MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina, USA, 29 July 2025 – In a wide-ranging Genomic Press Interview published today in Brain Medicine, Dr. David R. Rubinow recounts the serendipitous path that led him to overturn decades of medical assumptions about hormone-related mood disorders in women.

The interview reveals how a chance phone call accepting a fellowship position he had initially rejected set Dr. Rubinow on a trajectory that would fundamentally change how medicine understands and treats reproductive mood disorders. His discovery that women with conditions like premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), postpartum depression, and perimenopausal depression have completely normal hormone levels challenged the prevailing wisdom of an entire field.

The Power of Saying Yes

"I called him right back and said that I would be grateful to accept his invitation," Dr. Rubinow recalls of the moment that changed his career trajectory. That decision to work with Dr. Bob Post at the National Institute of Mental Health launched a 27-year career at NIH that would validate the experiences of millions of women whose hormone-related mood symptoms had been dismissed or misunderstood.

Through meticulous research involving blinded hormone manipulation studies, Dr. Rubinow and colleague Dr. Peter Schmidt identified what they termed "differential sensitivity" – the phenomenon where susceptible women respond differently to normal hormonal fluctuations. This breakthrough shifted treatment approaches from attempting to normalize hormone levels to targeting the abnormal response mechanisms themselves.

From Bench to Bedside

The practical impact of Dr. Rubinow's work materialized when his insights contributed to developing brexanolone (Zulresso), the first FDA-approved medication specifically for postpartum depression. Unlike traditional antidepressants, this neurosteroid treatment directly addresses the differential sensitivity mechanisms his research had uncovered.

In the interview, Dr. Rubinow shares how his background in philosophy and history unexpectedly prepared him for scientific discovery. "What I enjoyed in those two areas were the discipline of questioning in philosophy and the opportunity for creative linking of ideas in history," he explains. This interdisciplinary thinking enabled him to identify novel connections that yielded significant physiological insights.

Building Legacy Through Leadership

After establishing himself as a researcher, Dr. Rubinow brought his vision to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006, serving as Chair of Psychiatry until 2019. During his tenure, he founded the UNC Center for Women's Mood Disorders, established (with Samantha Meltzer-Brody) the nation's first peripartum psychiatry inpatient unit, and created (with Susan Girdler) the first NIH-sponsored fellowship in women's mood disorders.

The interview also reveals Dr. Rubinow's parallel passions for music and woodworking, offering glimpses into the person behind the scientific achievements. His philosophy of "bringing the chisel when sent for the hammer" – inherited from his grandfather – reflects the thoughtful, comprehensive approach that characterized his research career.

Recognition and Reflection

A member of the National Academy of Medicine since 2012 and past president of both the Society of Biological Psychiatry and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Dr. Rubinow has authored over 400 scientific publications. Yet in the interview, he attributes much of his success to serendipity and being open to unexpected opportunities.

His work has particular relevance as awareness of women's mental health continues to grow. By establishing reproductive psychiatry as a legitimate subspecialty with evidence-based treatments, Dr. Rubinow's research has provided hope and validation for women whose experiences were previously marginalized in medical settings.

Dr. David R. Rubinow's Genomic Press interview is part of a larger series called Innovators & Ideas that highlights the people behind today's most influential scientific breakthroughs. Each interview in the series offers a blend of cutting-edge research and personal reflections, providing readers with a comprehensive view of the scientists shaping the future. By combining a focus on professional achievements with personal insights, this interview style invites a richer narrative that both engages and educates readers. This format provides an ideal starting point for profiles that explore the scientist's impact on the field, while also touching on broader human themes. More information on the research leaders and rising stars featured in our Innovators & Ideas – Genomic Press Interview series can be found in our publications website: https://genomicpress.kglmeridian.com/.

The Genomic Press Interview in Brain Medicine titled "David R. Rubinow: Triggers and susceptibility–reproductive steroids and the regulation of affective state," is freely available via Open Access on 29 July 2025 in Brain Medicine at the following hyperlink: https://doi.org/10.61373/bm025k.0089.

About Brain Medicine: Brain Medicine (ISSN: 2997-2639, online and 2997-2647, print) is a peer-reviewed medical research journal published by Genomic Press, New York. Brain Medicine is a new home for the cross-disciplinary pathway from innovation in fundamental neuroscience to translational initiatives in brain medicine. The journal's scope includes the underlying science, causes, outcomes, treatments, and societal impact of brain disorders, across all clinical disciplines and their interface.

Visit the Genomic Press Virtual Library: https://issues.genomicpress.com/bookcase/gtvov/

Our full website is at: https://genomicpress.kglmeridian.com/

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Journal

Brain Medicine

Increase in softwood lumber tariffs unwarranted, unfair: N.B. government

A pile of softwood lumber at a B.C. sawmill. 

(Jonathan Hayward / CANADIAN PRESS)

By Derek Haggett
Updated: July 28, 2025 

The United States have slapped a nearly 21 per cent tariff on softwood lumber which could hit N.B. hard.

Members of the forest industry and the provincial government weighed in Monday on the Trump administration’s decision to raise tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber.

Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department decided to raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood to 20.56 per cent.
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A news release sent Monday by J.D. Irving, on behalf of the New Brunswick Lumber Producers co-chairs Jerome Pelletier and Glen Warmen, stated the province’s forest industry is “deeply troubled” by the decision to increase the duties by over 14 per cent.

“Increasing anti-dumping duties to 20.56 per cent from the current average rate of 7.66 per cent is unjustified,” read the statement. “New Brunswick’s softwood lumber producers already face punitive and unfair anti-dumping and countervailing duties.”

According to the statement, when combined with an anticipated rise in countervailing duties, the new increase to anti-dumping duties will mean an expected new total of 34 per cent by the middle of August.

The new tariff did not surprise New Brunswick Minister of Natural Resources John Herron.

“This administration has been very difficult to predict,” said Herron. “Just to be clear, from the government of New Brunswick perspective, these increase in tariffs and countervailing duties are unwarranted, unfair.”

Herron said the softwood lumber industry is a very important sector of the province’s economy with 28,000 New Brunswickers earning their living directly from the forests.

“That translates into $3 billion of exports, $2 billion in payroll, but perhaps most importantly is the jobs associated with the forestry sector that are dispersed throughout the province,” said Herron.

Anti-dumping duties are assessed when a product is being sold to importers in the United States at prices that are lower than comparable products coming from the country of export.

Duties can also be assessed when goods are sold into American markets at prices that are not profitable.

Rick Doucett, president of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners, said the decision by the Americans creates a lot of anxiety.

“Right now, in our world on the producer’s side, the suppliers’ side of wood, the markets aren’t very good. The margins are pretty tight as far as the price of wood and people being able to make money, either the woodlot owner or the producer, anybody cutting wood,” said Doucett.

Doucett said the concern is anytime a fee gets imposed on the industry, the industry does tend to try to find a place to pass it on to.

“Obviously one of the places they have passed those fees on in the past is to the suppliers, which we are,” said Doucett. “If the idea is to pass those fees on in the form of lower prices, I’m not sure our members will survive that.”

Doucett said whenever anybody in the supply chain hears about duties or tariffs or any other fees, they get very anxious about those fees being imposed on them in the form of lower wood prices and possibly making their operation not viable anymore.

On Friday, the British Columbia Lumber Organization condemned the decision to raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood calling them unjustified, punitive and protectionist.

The B.C. Council of Forest Industries issued a statement saying it will harm workers, families and communities across the country.

British Columbia Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar said the forestry sector is feeling the full weight of the decision.

“We know, here in Canada over the last few weeks and months that Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to destroy our economy,” said Parmar.

Herron has worked with Parmar over the past few weeks and doesn’t think the B.C. minister’s language is an overstatement.

Herron also believes Canada may actually be better positioned now to negotiate an accord with the United States on softwood lumber than it has been positioned to do in the past.

He has faith in Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister of Intergovernmental Affairs of Canada.

“Minister LeBlanc, who is leading the trade discussions with the Americans on all commodities, now has softwood lumber on the top sheet of the negotiating docket,” said Herron.

One way or the other, Herron is optimistic the federal government will put all hands on deck to negotiate an accord with their American counterparts for this crucial sector of New Brunswick’s economy.

“But it takes two parties to dance,” said Herron.

With files from the Canadian Press.

Derek Haggett
Journalist, CTVNewsAtlantic.ca