Michel McElroy

Meme showing hot peppers saying "evolution can you give me capsaicin to deter mammals? I want birds to spread my seeds?" Evolution, rendered as a DNA double helix, asks "to deter mammals?" and the peppers reply "yes, to deter mammals, that is precisely what I said." Then it shows two cavemen excitedly yelling "mouth hot" at some peppers, to which the peppers say "wait what the fuck?" and the final image is a bunch of hot sauces and dishes, again captioned "what the fuck?"

It's one of my favorite topics to teach in sensory physiology-- how plants likely evolved capsaicin as a deterrent to keep us from eating them and that didn't work out so great for them (or did, since we now lovingly grow and cultivate them):

Ag research will continue, federal minister says | The Western Producer Canada’s agriculture department aims to reduce overhead by closing several research sites, but still hopes to conduct as much ag research.

More collaboration with universities is likely as Canada looks to keep research programs on pace, federal MPs are told. vist.ly/4ss6w

Wheat breeder loses faith in Canada’s system vist.ly/4s85q #cdnag #westcdnag

OPPORTUNITY: McGill Plant Science is looking for an expert in plant pathology, plant breeding, or horticulture in the context of the Canada Impact+ Research Chairs Program (senior established researcher).
Contact: www.mcgill.ca/plant/contact
Program: lnkd.in/eavfNu7e

Please re-post.

I have been having some issues registering online and have not gotten any responses to the e-mails sent to the organizers. Is there anyone I can get in touch with to help me?

An old time-y illustration of a Hemp.

Today is Primidi the 21st of Vendémiaire in the year 234.
Vendémiaire is the month of vintage.
Today we celebrate hemp. #JacobinDay

More information on hemp

Assistant Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics - Montréal, Quebec (CA) job with Institut de recherche en biologie végétale (IRBV) | 12844852 A full-time tenure-track assistant professor position at the IRBV, Université de Montréal.

Join us at the Plant Science Research Institute of the University of Montreal to develop your research group in Plant Molecular Genetics:
www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Dossier | Blé d’automne | Une petite révolution dans nos champs (2 articles) D’abord domestiqué sous les chaleurs du Croissant fertile il y a près de 10 000 ans, le blé cultivé au Québec passe de plus en plus l’hiver sous la neige. Le blé « d’automne » connaît un essor sans pr...

👍 👍 👍 🌾 🌾 🌾
www.lapresse.ca/actualites/b...

My god look at Canada

Drying Out – Prairie Drought Worsens | The latest Canadian drought monitor shows conditions have rapidly deteriorated across the prairies and across Canada. Hardest hit is southwestern Saskatchewan.

A shocking deterioration in the prairie drought, with 87 percent of agricultural land on the prairies either abnormally dry or in drought. Crops are stressed after a dry June.

www.ruralrootscanada.com/drying-out-p...

An old time-y illustration of a Oat.

Today is Duodi the 2nd of Messidor in the year 233.
Messidor is the month of harvest.
Today we celebrate oat. #JacobinDay

More information on oat

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

CÉRÉALES 🚨 Appel à la vigilance

Des cas de rouille jaune et d’oïdium ont été rapportés dans les céréales dans plusieurs régions. On recommande de surveiller les champs.

vist.ly/3n68n99

“Chinese Nationals Charged with Conspiracy & Smuggling a Dangerous Biological Pathogen into the US for their Work at a Univ. of Michigan Laboratory”

This sounds fishy. Fusarium is a common fungus & a bane to farmers. Different strains attack different crops (blight, rust, etc.). Research is normal.

a man with a hat on his head in front of a sign that says ' sale ' ALT: a man with a hat on his head in front of a sign that says ' sale '

My wheat rn:

Winter wheat looking lush....

It pains me to say this, but if you are not a US citizen, you should not attend scientific conferences in the US, visit US institutions, or otherwise travel to our country.

Right now it's not worth the risk.

Hopefully that will change. If it doesn't, science in the US is sunk anyway.

Why Corn And Soy Are In EVERYTHING YouTube video by Farm to Taber

Everyone thinks we grow a lot of corn & soybeans in the US "because of subsidies," & that's just... not accurate?

So I made a video about it www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlSR...

Anybody know an expert on comparative grass anatomy and/or development that can help us with identifying homologous tissues in maize and rice?

Some nice Nova Scotia liquor...!

Hi - I’m looking for roles inside and outside of academia in Canada, and would appreciate any leads or contacts y’all may have. I’m a computational and molecular biologist with a broad range of prior experience in both wet lab and dry lab work. If you or someone you know is hiring, get in touch!

ÉTAT DES CULTURES 🌦️ Départ lent pour les semis, départ prometteur pour le blé d’automne.

Détails sur La Tournée des Grandes Cultures ➡️www.lebulletin.com/etat-des-cultures/etat-des-cultures-9-mai-un-autre-depart-lent-140422

Merci à G3, Les Moulins de Soulanges et Pioneer.

🆕🍁 Canadian Ag-Land Monitoring System (CALMS): Weekly NDVI anomalies
📆 28 April - 4 May, 2025
📀 agriculture.canada.ca 🧪

ℹ️ Weekly crop condition (Max-NDVI) maps throughout growing season (end of March to the end of October).

Download data for *FREE* (2000 to present):
🔗 tinyurl.com/AAFC-CALMS

They don't actually produce the same compound though, do they? Lemons = limonene and Lemongrass = citronellal. We just sense them similarly.

Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Microbiology & Immunology, (C2-240724) Please refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply. If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at ...

Come join us at @mcgill.ca as an assistant professor in virus-host interactions! Please share widely.

mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...

yeah I had misread that. Deleted.

10 000%

great! Our rye border plots were looking robust but purple, I guess they got started a bit too early...

a cartoon of spongebob squarepants standing next to patrick star . ALT: a cartoon of spongebob squarepants standing next to patrick star .

Winter survival at 99%. I can feel three months of stress dissolving

😊