Shanis Santos

   This is an excellent start on the first writing assignment.  
   As I mentioned when you came to office hours last week, 
   you have done a really good job on the "they say" part. 
   I think you are well set up to provide your own point
   of view in response now.  

   I have made a small number of suggestions for rewording
   or rewriting things directly on a printout of the 
   paper.  Ask me what I meant if the markings are not
   clear. 

   Comment

   1.  I think that Laskawy is actually referring to a
   "theme issue" of Nature that dealt with issues related
   to GMOs.  The opinions you are mentioning would be 
   those expressed by the authors of the articles in that
   issue of Nature, not the opinions of the editors of 
   Nature or the magazine itself.  BTW, Nature is one 
   of the most prestigious general science journals 
   in the world--it's a really "big deal" to have an article
   published there!

   PS:  One of the main points of the Laskawy article
   is that increased resistance to pesticides and herbicides 
   is negating the benefits of GMO crops.  The interesting
   point here is that that resistance develops naturally 
   through evolution.  In effect, the genomes of the
   pests and the weeds are changing in response to 
   our genetic modification of the crops.  Some people
   compare the situation to an arms race where neither
   side can ever gain a decisive advantage.