A West Roxbury state representative is resigning his seat to become head of government affairs for the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.
Edward Coppinger, a Democrat, will become at least the fourth state legislator to take a job with the high-paying nonprofit organization that lobbies on behalf of biotechnology companies in the state.
The once-ubiquitous American chestnut tree may be making a comeback starting this summer, as scientists get ready to release a new genetically engineered version designed to resist blight.
The blight, which came from Asia, appeared in the United States in 1904, and wiped out more than 98 percent of chestnut trees in America by the mid-20th century.
