Our latest preprint on the genomic epidemiology of flu over 10 years in NZ www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...

We are hiring a #phage research assistant here in Christchurch to help with our phagesolutions.co.nz project. If you are looking for a rewarding job in a microbiology laboratory, please take a look! #NZLabLife jobs.canterbury.ac.nz/jobdetails/a...

If someone would like to do a postdoc with me on the Stanford campus aimed at thinking about allocation of resources across different domains (climate, environment, food, health, education, wealth transfer, etc) to improve human welfare (balancing near-term and long-term goals), please contact me.

We're looking for three postdoctoral fellows to join us to work on this ambitious goal → bit.ly/3FqwX5Y

At the Wanaka A&O Show! Lucy and Leonore were fantastic ambassadors at our Ag@Otago stand. Proud to be showcasing Otago Uni's contributions to sustainable farming practices. Big thanks to everyone who visited! #AgInnovation #UniversityOfOtago #WanakaShow #SustainableFarming

Post-doc opportunity (three 2-year positions) in #NewZealand to work within our national Centre of Research Excellence in Complex Systems - @tepunahamatatini.bsky.social. www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz/2025/03/07/p... 🧪 #complexity #networkscience #AcademicSky

FWIW, Dr Webby is a New Zealander, and a graduate of the University of Otago -

My department at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala has just advertised a position for senior lecturer/assistant professor in #anaerobic microbial #biotechnology. Application deadline is March 3rd. #microbiology #scijobs #AcademicJobs #AcademicSky www.slu.se/en/about-slu...

Toitū te Tiriti o Waitangi My Dad at ~19m10s ...if it's interpreted right, it’s a bloody good thing. It’s our only founding document, which a lot of people don’t agree with...but there’s no New Zealand without it, none at all. – Rob Bunt www.nzonscreen.com/title/lost-i...

When not distracted by the view it hiking on Saturday I did occasionally look down; mostly to avoid matagouri thorns, try to remember if matagouri berries are edible (decided to not try my luck), and have a little snack on tātarāmoa/bush lawyer berries (I do know they are edible and yummy)

Saturday's view after a little 1000m walk up from the hut :-)

Hike up the Jollie River last Friday

Grear time this morning with a group of science academy students visiting the Jim Dunkley Heritage apple orchard; Aaron spoke about his master research sequencing the 200 varities, from Vinny we learnt about phages, and back in the lab some soil analysis. Thanks Leonore for the great pics!

Some eDNA fun from last semester: a water sample taken from the Leith, right in the heart of the Otago Uni campus! #eDNA s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wilderlab.op...

Seems I haven't logged into this account in a while, been distracted, so what's been happening?

Hands down the most amusing title ever for an article that's quoted me. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/350...

The second most amusing article where I'm quoted this week. www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/medicin...

Let me count the ways I hate email: 1. I hate email. Sorry if you were expecting more—that pretty much sums it up.

🇳🇿 Article about the serious concerns about the future of our universities. The upshot is that they are in danger of failing if this government continues to dramatically cut funding in both direct and indirect (research $) ways. This is not a drill.

Moved office last week. With a view like this, the only thing missing from the hand in the foreground is a glass of whiskey!

It's refreshing to have been involved in establishing a second ag degree program—this time without the added challenge of a pandemic! 😉 www.odt.co.nz/rural-life/r...

Every single estimate of the real-world consequences of scaling up biofuels for a meaningful amount of energy is like:

WFH today. Where's my usual WFH buddy? At the other end of the house in the lounge, on the sofa, with the fire going, those half huskie genes aren't kicking in today I notice

30 years in science and my research still flips from Pharm to Farm ;-) Review published recently; onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/3EIS27...

I've sent some whalebone to my aunt, who's having something carved for her brother. Now I have the urge to carve something myself. This urge hits me about once every five years—mostly because I tend to avoid sawing off a section by hand, takes forever!

Another post about the Budget. This time Jon Hickford (Lincoln Uni) and I look at free markets do not responding well to things that are slow to change – we need to set deep and long-lived national research, science, and technology goals newsroom.co.nz/2024/06/10/f...

My latest for Science about NZ's budget, the cuts to science and the Save Science Coalition, with @nzscientists.bsky.social @lcsnz.bsky.social et al “Analyzing this year’s budget is an exercise in determining how bad the damage will be.” www.science.org/content/arti...

Why didn’t you reply to my email? Didn’t you cc me on that? Yep. Oh, sorry, my answer was rhetorical.

Where are we at with feed additives to reduce methane emissions from ruminant livestock? Our latest briefing gives an overview of the current evidence. TL;DR: some are ready to implement now, some still have big question marks. But also, climate policies are needed to motivate adoption at scale.

My job offers the heart-pounding thrill of... watching grass grow. In real-time. Blade by blade.

The USDA is paying farmers for cover-cropping & no-till. Both those practices have enviro benefits, so that's good (I think). But neither reliably stores soil carbon, so billing it as a GHG win is bad. www.reuters.com/business/env...

Spent the morning collecting heritage apples for a post-harvest processing class later this semester

So school lunches like Estonia, 30% over heads on University research like Ireland .... I'm guessing probably not what PMs thinking www.newshub.co.nz/home/politic...

Visited a farm this morning growing 14 different crops, I think I'll make the jar of seeds the farmer has into a class assessment later this year. Sadly, it's a bad season for grass grub, I did my part taking away an ice cream container full for a bacterial insecticide bioassay I need to run ;-)

The methane review lays the groundwork for watering down climate targets while using science as cover for what is ultimately a political decision. newsroom.co.nz/2024/04/08/g...

So the tertiary students left for the Easter break, then?

🇳🇿 I encourage everyone who can to join in the School Strike 4 Climate Aotearoa on Friday. Links to the times and locations are in the post below. I made a few A2 posters calling for 2% GDP of funding for public research. The same ask has been made, again and again, for 40 years. Let's do it now!

More support for #GMO crops - "Bt eggplant raises yields, lowers total cost and pesticide costs and generates a price premium compared to non-Bt eggplant" academic.oup.com/erae/advance... H/T @mem_somerville on X-Twitter

I've set up a couple of email rules for student and external emails into two sub-inboxes; zero unread emails students cause it's semester time. Considering adding a third for emails that say 'Thanks' as if they want me to know they got my email, would love a fourth for "You didn't need to reply-all"

#NZpol NZ First, lies about WHO agreements Some of you may recall me pushing back on claims or implications by Winston Peters and his party that WHO might "control" or "direct" NZ policy. Here is WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanhom Ghebreyesus speaking on this ⬇️ 1/

Visited my cousin on Sunday, asked how long the 19th-century whaling harpoon/hooks had been lying in the hallway. "Years," he replied. Typical when your ancestors are the whalers Geordie Thoms and William Keenan. Best part this was a work trip, could feel 200 years of history behind every meeting

This morning, Agriculture Production and Food Security class field trip to The Jim Dunckley Heritage apple orchard. Despite the chilly weather at 300m and dampness from last night's rain, it was an incredible experience! It's remarkable to have such a resource just a 30-minute drive from uni

Always look forward to a lecture when I manage to pop in this photo. Most stressful 20m I've rowed in my life; you really don't want three bothers (my dad and uncles) that grew up in the sounds commenting on your (lack of) rowing technique.

Job alert! 2 positions with me at University of Oulu: Post-doc, and PhD student (both 3y) in our Kone Foundation-funded project "In the shadow of carbon", on #regenag regenerative farming & #carbonfarming knowledge politics and practice. Deadline 4th April, see rb.gy/92hywm , please re-post!

My Dad @19mins "...if it's interpreted right, it’s a bloody good thing. It’s our only founding document, which a lot of people don’t agree with...but there’s no New Zealand without it, none at all." – Rob Bunt, a descendant of treaty signee Joseph Thoms, www.nzonscreen.com/title/lost-i...

WFH office buddy, literally under my feet!

NEW: Good to see FAO’s roadmap for food/nutrition security and climate change out today. It shares many commonalities with our Creating a Sustainable Food Future report, including calls for more efficient and sustainable crop and livestock production, reducing food loss & waste, and dietary shifts.