The next installment in my Fields of Study series is an interview with Molly Jahn, an accomplished pepper breeder, who is currently serving as the Dean of the College of Ag and Life Sciences at UW-Madison. Yep, we don’t just breed corn in these here parts; Molly shares the joys and setbacks involved in breeding amongst those spicy species of Capsicum.
A higher resolution is available here.
More to come!
33!
Yes, today I am three to the third power years old. 27 times have I orbited our sun, since having taken my first breath.
Amongst my birthday loot I got a very unique shirt from my spouse. Fans of Red Dwarf will understand the significance of this: It is a beige shirt that says in bright orange: “Give Quiche a Chance”. She got it made at a local shop. I laughed and laughed when I saw it. Perfect!
This is the first year that Ariela and I are spending the Winter Holiday season away from our families. We decided to spend Christmas, Kitzmas, Squidmas, Festivus, and the Solstice in Madison to relax, keep warm, and save some money. Since We’ve been in Wisconsin, we’ve traveled five times to California, mostly for wedding-related business. Now that we have a house, finances are suddenly a big thing! Read More…
The next in my Award-Winning series of plant breeding videos is up at the UW-Madison Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics program website. This is the first in a series of videos interviewing plant breeders about what they do and what they like about it. The first breeder up for public scrutiny is professor Bill Tracy, here at UW-Madison, who is also the other PI on the project besides my adviser Shawn. Read More…
This afternoon, I’m meeting with someone to chit chat about philosophy, Daniel Dennett, and who knows what else. I’d say we were hanging out, however this occasion has assumed a different term: A Play Date!
Let me tell you how this happened. Read More…
Three years ago today, Judge John E. Jones laid down his ruling, booting the pseudoscience known as Intelligent Design from the Dover Area School District in Pennsylvania. ID has been on the decline ever since.
That doesn’t mean that it is going away. Read More…
My new post is up at Biofortified, discussing Hawai’is curious relationship with GE. Here’s a taste:
Hawai’i is a remote archipelago of islands with a declining sugar industry. The new expanses of open acreage are now being filled with GE crop trials, and controversy.
- PRSV-Resistant Papaya
The University of Hawai’i produced the first GE Papaya resistant to Papaya Ringspot Virus, which grows there today (and even surrounds and protects organic plots of Papaya), and is currently investigating several other crops and their potential for improvement. Those efforts have been put in jeopardy recently as the council of the big island of Hawai’i banned the growing of GE taro and coffee with no allowance for continued academic research.
(…)
So if this was about helping Hawai’ian farmers defend themselves against Monsanto and worried coffee consumers, why was there no provision to allow University GE research on the big island of Hawai’i?
Read the rest here.
