#SyntheticBiology postdoctoral position in our group in University of Florida's Horticultural Sciences department. Work is directed evolution to improve enzymes that underlie important crop traits ⬇️

On a per-cup basis, coffee requires almost 7.5 x the land area that tea does.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

The village of Brockley Green (Suffolk - not so far from Cambs.) is famous for its cowslips (P. veris). They feature in the village sign.

Sam Lovat, Elad Noor, Ron Milo run the numbers on #VerticalFarming to get ⚡️ cost ≈$10/kg dry plant matter.
Which explains why it's viable only for high-value 🥬 ('fru-fru baby lettuce')

Vertical farming limitations & potential demonstrated by back-of-the-envelope calculations
doi.org/10.1093/plph...

Congratulations to 2 outstanding @ufhorticulture @UF_IFAS colleagues on their 2024 election to AAAS!
🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽
www.aaas.org/programs/fel...

@inmice.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

🙏 NSF for supporting @uf-ifas.bsky.social / UF Horticultural Sciences' trailblazing workshop 'How SynBio can *realistically* impact crop improvement & agriculture'! We brought🌱 SynBio ECRs together w/ top ag biotech & crop breeding experts to identify disconnects btwn their worlds & how to fix them⬇️

Useful references but otherwise uncritically recites typical ideas about what #SynBio & #AI *might perhaps one day* do in plant breeding ⬇️ Enough boosterism! Let's focus on *realistic, specific* applications & *numbers not adjectives* for projected benefits.
doi.org/10.1016/j.xp...

Excellent 🇨🇦 lecture on 'Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): Farmland, Biomass Demand, & Planetary Boundaries'
TLDR: SAF is *not* a feasible path to net-zero air travel
youtu.be/UWoFcDzemE8?...
See also our own calculations on this doi.org/10.1093/plph...

“Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”

[“But who will guard the guards themselves?" Juvenal, Satires]

⬇️ How the (otherwise pretty good) dictation app on my iPhone renders ‘horticultural’…

For users of yeast OrthoRep or any continuous directed evolution system: If all accessible beneficial synonymous mutations have been made, synonymous ones that just boost expression dominate, giving improvement 'mirages'. Attests to OrthoRep's power! @chang-c-liu.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/pbi....

Here are Estrella and Luna🐭 celebrating the 12th Day of Christmas in the (hi-carb) Gingerbread Village!

BREAKING: Dramatic #Drone development! Residents of Gingerbread Xmas village report Unmanned** Aerial Vehicle flying low over residences & the high-security zone in front!
Village authorities say it is not a threat, the foolish villagers mistook it for a 747.

**But not unmoused

Are you an early-career SynBio researcher (PhD student/postdoc/Asst Prof) at a US institution & want your work to *really* help agriculture?
If so, this workshop is a great chance to learn & network. 30 places available, fully funded! Apply before Jan 15.
hos.ifas.ufl.edu/advertisemen...