Two conferences in one week

I got to attend two conferences in Davis and Sacramento CA with"Genomics" in the title last week.  In addition to the the sequencing stuff, of which I am not really a player, there were two sessions that spoke to agriculture.  There is significant concern, of which you may be aware, that food supplies may not expand to serve the expected population by 2050. This is due to expanding population and to more cultures including more animal foods in their diet.  1/6 of people are now "stunted", meaning inferior mental and body growth due to malnutrition or calorie restriction. 

There were a couple of presentations addressing heritage seed genetics.  Some of the many seed varieties developed by crossings, a la Gregory Mendel, have desirable characteristics of low water requirements, disease resistance, tight seed heads, etc.  It's not always possible to breed all these genes into one organism, so genetic engineering is one way to fit these genes into a single cell.  The resultant GMO seeds would not release "new" genes into the world, but would increase the yield and nutritive value of the resultant crop.  So to characterise all GMO seeds as dangerous is a very wide brush that can tar a valuable tool to enhance food security for the next generations.  Not common to get a global take-away from a scientific meeting.

A little gin chemistry

I found a review in Science and checked out The Drunken Botanist, the Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks by Amy Stewart http://www.amazon.com/The-Drunken-Botanist-Plants-Create/dp/1616200464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378216580&sr=8-1&keywords=the+drunken+botanist.  It's fun, a cheap chance to learn more botany and good stories (know how the alcohol content measure "proof" came about?)

Coincidentally, G and I went to the Scotch tasting at the Scottish Games Sunday.  G was chatting up one of the Scotch vendors, and I happened to mention the above book to him when said vendor mentioned gin botanicals.  His eyebrows shot up and he said juniper was poisonous.  I said not in the quantities ingested in gin.  He said true, but the botanical is never metabolized, so over a lifetime of drinking gin, it accumulates.  Of course, that got my attention. I searched MedLine, the FDA Poisonous Plant list, and some other trusted sources this morning.  With all the lore out there on herbaceous bioactivity, this was not a time to turn to Wikipedia.

There are 60 species of Juniperus; the one used for gin flavoring most widely is J. communis communius.  Three examples of toxic species are J. ashei, J. sabina, and J. pinchotii.  The latter have much more sabinene and sabinyl acetate among the many terpenes in the leaves and berries.  Those are the compounds responsible for the unwanted reproductive and kidney effects.  I could find no reference in Medline indicating that any of the terpenes bioaccumulate.  So I don't have to give up my gin after all.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Ever been to Pacific Grove CA to see the Monarch butterflies hang in the trees at the coast?  Most impressive tour force of nature.  Either way, if you would like to revisit the phenomenon, Kingsolver's new book is an informative read.  Kingsolver uses this novel, as she uses other books she has written, as a bully pulpit.   Not only does she explore the plight of these animals experiencing a diminished habitat, but she takes on climate change and the way a news network explores the topic.  Of personal interest is Kingsolver's exploration of science education and the perception of scientists in a poor, rural town in the south.  When the football coach teaches introductory science class, how much do you expect the kids to learn?  Evidently Kingsolver did take a science class from someone who understood how scientists, at least scientists like me, think.

A garden is truly a living organism

It's mid August here in northern California.  Already my liquid amber sweet gum is tinged with rose.  I supposed it was just dry, and soaked it the other week, but it continues to turn.  My veggie garden was pristine and green the end of July and now lots of brown leaves, chard with black bugs, and grass setting seed is evident.  With a sigh I went out this morning, cleared two carts of garden debris, and started to turn over the earth for my winter garden.  I dug a dishpan of carrots, a couple humongous, and a bunch of fingerlings and itty-bitties.   I was not quite ready for summer to end, but life moves on.  The last of the tomatoes is always a rude shock. 

I am officially old

I clicked the 'send' button on my Medicare application today.   When did that happen?

summer in my kitchen

I took 90 pounds of plums, apricots, and more plums to the Food Pantry today.  The lady who runs the place gave me a big hug as she does every year.  So after cutting, chopping, boiling, and canning for a lot of the weekend, I have 10 jars of plum-mango jam, 9 jars of apricot jam, 5 jars of Chinese plum sauce (yum).  We paid our annual fruit tributes to the street.  And now I will stop for awhile until the peaches come in.

A Little Scenery from U CA Davis Putah Creek



Green Heron



Snowy Egret

 I also saw a pair of Little Blue Herons and a pair of Bitterns in a tree.  Nice day here.

Mama mallard

Crochet tree