Announcing a name change for my Substack to better reflect what it is all about. Plant lovers, check it out! open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

A new entry for my series on the subject of plants and light in history. This one is about the sun and plants in ancient creation myths. Check it it out! open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

New paper out on how polar lipids protect plant xylem against cavitation. Based on molecular dynamics simulations of hydrophobic interfaces under negative pressure. Plant biologists check it out! doi.org/10.1016/j.jc...

At the ccolorful No Kings rally in Pasadena #NoKingsPasadenaCA

Time-travel to the year 1700 to learn about leaf transpiration and about the challenges of time travel. New post on the River to the Sky Substack. open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

A different kind of post on this week's River to the Sky Substack. A song about trees, global warming, and some other things. Check it out! open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

Why write about ancient science history when the planet is literally on fire and authoritarian governments and invading armies threaten the safety and well-being of a large part of humanity? Shouldn’t we all be worrying and writing about those pressing issues?

My new post on the River to the Sky Substack channel, among other things, features a recipe for using a banana to combat erectile dysfunction. Do I have your attention? Also featured are the big bang, rhinos, and the book of Genesis. open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

My new Substack post on River to the Sky introduces Guy de la Brosse, a largely forgotten 17th century French scholar who had some amazing insights into plants. And made some epic blunders. Check it out and consider subscribing. open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

Check out my new post from the River to the Sky Substack. open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

More plant science history from the River to the Sky Substack. open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

Check out my new Substack post about what people thought about plant water use and leaf transpiration >2,000 years ago. They had pretty much figured it out! open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

Here is a new science history post about plants and the carbon cycle from my River to the Sky Substack. Check it out and consider subscribing. open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

My new Substack post features a rare conversation with Aristotle about plants and the nature of air. Check it out and consider subscribing. It's free! open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

New River to the Sky Substack post. Check it out, and please subscribe. It's free! open.substack.com/pub/rivertot...

Check out my new 'River to the Sky' Substack at rivertothesky.substack.com/p/a-conversa...

Celebrating the arrival of Marion Boisseaux for a year in our lab, the end of the semester, an amazing team, wonderful friends/mentors, and @rivertothesky.bsky.social ' European adventure next semester 🎉

For a presentation on plant water transport, I managed for the first time to get images out of ChatGPT that looked like what I wanted. Either AI is getting better, or I am.

I am looking for 1-2 new master's students in the summer/fall 2025 or spring 2026. Research can either tie to our current work on phloem physiology or plant phenology. Please email me if you want to know more!

"What plants do for us and for the climate" Public outreach projects of students in my Global Change Biology class at the Arboretum and Botanic Garden at Cal State Fullerton. I am so proud of them all!

Please let me know if you are looking for a postdoc who is great at doing anything related to plant water relations besides being a professional drummer and ukulele player. I know just the guy! (not me, I play guitar and keyboards)

Whow, it is so cool to meet all you plant scientists who are freshly arriving in the blue skies! Welcome! The more we are, the more we'll like it. Let's cultivate our garden!

A philosopher, a historian, and a biologist walk into a bar. And decide to teach a course on Truth at Cal State Fullerton. news.fullerton.edu/2024/10/new-...

We really shouldn't be in the situation where we need this stuff. But we are. Methadone treatment for our addiction to fossil fuels. Half a pound of this powder can remove as much CO₂ from the air as a tree, scientists say www.latimes.com/environment/...

My tribute to Kris Kristofferson. His 1970 debut album had Me an Bobby McGee, Sunday Morning Coming Down, For the Good Times, Help Me Make It Through The Night, Best of All Possible Worlds, To Beat the Devil, and many other truly great songs.

Victoria regia 'Longwood hybrid' in the greenhouse complex at Cal State Fullerton. Our greenhouse manager Ed Read is now the master of growing both Amorphophallus and Victoria. What's next? #plantjoy

The Department of Biological Science at Cal State Fullerton is hiring an Assistant Professor in terrestrial arthropod biology/ecology. Apply at hr.fullerton.edu/careers/Facu..., choose full-time faculty, search for #541175. Deadline 30 Sep. 2024. Inquiries: [email protected]

🌿💧 New article in @aobp.bsky.social addressing how bamboo generates xylem nocturnal positive pressure in mature stems and rhizomes rather than roots, and its meaning for the species. Full #openaccess 👉 https://buff.ly/3XdcCrw @rivertothesky.bsky.social #PlantScience

Root pressure? Time to rethink that, at least for bamboos: Positive pressure in bamboo is generated in stems and rhizomes, not in roots. Joseph M Michaud, Kerri Mocko, and H. Jochen Schenk. AoB PLANTS, Volume 16, Issue 4, July 2024, plae040 doi.org/10.1093/aobp...

Rare good news about methane. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Here is a visual celebration of my last field botany class and all the students in it. Thanks to all! #PlantJoy

Very cool! Look up tonight! Fingers crossed for you if you own any satellites. A huge solar storm is slamming into the Earth www.npr.org/2024/05/10/1...

Special issue of Tree Physiology on the gas phase in plants: Submission deadline extended to 15 May 2024. academic.oup.com/treephys/pag...

Anza Borrego is famous for its carpets of wildflowers, but my favorite is this plucky little monkeyflower, Diplacus bigelovii. Its flower is often larger than the entire rest of the plant. #PlantJoy

I sang this to my class today: "Phacelia, you're breaking my heart. You're shaking my confidence daily." Does that count as #plantjoy ?

We are looking for a scientific curator (permanent position) at the Botanical Garden of Ulm University, and have also a postdoc position available at the Institute of Botany. Anyone interested is welcome to contact me. Best wishes!

Do any of you use AI tools for teaching plant biology? The only good use I have found so far is in plant species ID apps such as iNaturalist or PlantNet. Do you know of other helpful AI apps for instruction, including LLMs?

@plantlabulm.bsky.social Welcome Steven! Let's grow the plant community on Bluesky!

Great reporting about the CSU faculty strike on LAist today. laist.com/news/educati...

Want to know why CSU faculty are going on strike next week? Here's a great explanation: medium.com/@kateozment/...

Heard about the Cal State strike and want to know what’s going on? Here’s a primer. JOURNALISTS pls take note. California Faculty Association is librarians, coaches, counselors, and professors. We rep 30k people at 23 campuses serving 500k students. We have called a strike Jan. 22-26. Why? Well …

Hi fellow travelers from that other evil place. It feels a bit empty here, but Elon will surely provide.