A 2nd banana apocalypse could be brewing

+ sussing out Jane Austen's take on slavery US Edition - Today's top story: Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating bananas worldwide [View in browser]( US Edition | 17 August 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Beneath canopies of swaying palm fronds looms an age-old threat nestled in sun-warmed soil. It invades and damages nutrient-carrying vessels from bottom to top. It releases a toxic burst of gas that forces it past plant defenses. It infects over 120 species, including humans. It felled a multibillion-dollar industry before, and it’s gearing up to do so again. That’s right: Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical race 4 (or TR4, for short) is coming for your bananas. Genomicist Li-Jun Ma of UMass Amherst has spent the past 10 years studying Fusarium oxysporum. Her lab’s latest research, published yesterday, reveals [another facet of this fungus’s multipart genome]( that’s enabling its destruction of the banana variety found in most American grocery stores today – and also provides a potential avenue to stop it. But you don’t have to be a scientist to play an important role in turning the tides of this banana war. “It can be hard to imagine how a consumer who simply enjoys eating bananas could participate in the battle against the disease devastating banana crops,” she writes. “However, consumers determine the market, and farmers are forced to grow what the market demands.” This week we also liked articles about why Americans may think twice about [free speech](, what can go wrong when cities rely on bonds to fund the [maintenance and repairs of their public school buildings](, and how a debate about the racial identity of the main character in the “[Harold and the Purple Crayon](” books arose. [ [The best of The Conversation, every Sunday. Sign up here](. ] Vivian Lam Associate Health and Biomedicine Editor Fusarium oxysporum spores can remain hardy in soil for decades. Andrii Volosheniuk/iStock via Getty Images Plus [Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating bananas worldwide]( Li-Jun Ma, UMass Amherst Fusarium oxysporum can infect over 120 plant species. Whether it destroys Cavendish bananas as it did their predecessor depends on the agricultural industry and consumers. More than 200 years after her death, Jane Austen’s views on slavery remain unclear. Jim Dyson/Getty Images [3 of Jane Austen’s 6 brothers engaged in antislavery activism − new research offers more clues about her own views]( Devoney Looser, Arizona State University The author of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and other classic novels used the words ‘slave’ and ‘slavery’ nearly a dozen times in her books. Should there be limits on free speech? Westend61/Westend61 via Getty Images [Americans love free speech, survey finds − until they realize everyone else has it, too]( John G. Geer, Vanderbilt University; Jacob Mchangama, Vanderbilt University Americans agree that democracy requires freedom of speech. But a large minority also thinks it’s acceptable to bar certain subjects or speakers from public debate. - [Philly schools are in disrepair − the municipal bond market is 1 big reason]( David I. Backer, West Chester University of Pennsylvania The district spends only 43 cents of every dollar loaned to it. - [His crayon is purple – but is Harold a Black boy?]( Philip Nel, Kansas State University The choices of author and illustrator Crockett Johnson during the printing process – as well as his civil rights advocacy – make it entirely within the realm of possibility. - [3 years after fall of Kabul, US Congress has still not acted to secure future of more than 70,000 Afghan evacuees in US]( Kelsey Norman, Rice University; Ana Martín Gil, Rice University Attempts to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act have faltered, leaving tens of thousands of Afghans who fled chaos during the fall of Kabul in limbo. - [Trees compete for space, light and resources, and those clashes can leave battle scars]( - [Hard-to-treat traumas and painful memories may be treatable with EMDR – a trauma therapist explains why it is gaining popularity]( - [Offensive names dot the American street map − a new app provides a way to track them]( - [Chicagoans watch films of the violent 1968 convention protests to get ready for the Democratic convention]( - [Kamala, a common name in India, is associated with several deities and is a symbol of wisdom]( - [Real-time crime centers are transforming policing – a criminologist explains how these advanced surveillance systems work]( - [Birth of a hurricane: What meteorologists look for as they hunt for early signs of a tropical cyclone forming]( - [3 strategies to help college students pick the right major the first time around and avoid some big hassles]( The Conversation News Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation Here’s the first question of [this week’s edition:]( Which potential treatment for PTSD did the FDA reject last Friday? - A. 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