Green Golf?

With its manicured greens and often massive water consumption, golf has a poor environmental image. The creators of The Eden Project are now trying to change this perception (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/24/eden-project-creatorsto-open-edible-green-golf-course-gillyflower-cornwall). In Lostwithiel, Cornwall, every inch of the 9-hole Gillyflower golf course's non-playing surface is used to grow fruit and vegetables or is managed with wildlife in mind. This seems a worthwhile endeavour but I can't see it changing the managagement of big, tournament courses. In these venues, masses of onlookers, trample after the players. 'Green golf' might well prove to be a niche thing?

'Sunshine' Tomatoes

Vitamin D is either manufactured in the skin, when the body is exposed to UV light, or taken in with the diet. Oily fish, red meat, egg yolks and mushrooms are rich in Vitamin D. This vitamin is essential to maintain the health of bones, teeth and muscles. A lack of vitamin D can cause Rickets (deformation of the skeleton), a condition common in Victorian times. Almost 20% of Britons currently may have low vitamin D levels. Some scientists have suggested that, in the UK, vitamin D supplements should be taken, especially from October to March. At this time, there is insufficient sunlight falling on the country to produce enough vitamin D in the skin. These supplements can, however, be problematic for vegans. Most contain lanolin (from sheep's wool). Tomatoes have now been gene edited, to produce substantial concentrations of the provitamin D3 (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/may/23/scientists-create-tomatoes-genetically-edited-boost-vitamin-d-levels). D3 is converted by the body into active vitamin D. Gene editing (CRISPR-Cas9) technology allows scientists to make small 'tweaks' to the DNA or organisms. The use of CRISPR to develop food items is currently banned in the EU (as is, the more invasive, Genetic Modification). These 'sunshine tomatoes' could, however, be a boon and not only for vegans! I can't see them causing environmental dangers?

An Apple a Day....?

A 9-year study by Pesticide Action Plan (PAN), looked at 100,000 popular 'homegrown' fruit samples, gathered throughout Europe. Over that period, the samples showed a more than 50% rise in the concentrations of most hazardous pesticide residues (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/24/european-fruit-with-traces-of-most-toxic-pesticides-up-53-in-nine-years). These hazardous pesticide residues on fruit, have been linked to cancer, heart disease and birth deformities. 33% of apples and 50% of blackerries had these hazardous pesticide residues. Things appear to be getting worse, as Kiwi fruit showed an increase in residues from 4% in 2011 to 32% in 2019. Corresponding figures for cherries were 22% and 50%, respectively. I used to like fruit, eating it most days! The pesticides will, of course, also be killing insect pollinators.

Mary Anning Finally Remembered

Famous people have statues, don't they? Evie Swire, at the age of 9, asked her mother, where in their town of Lyme Regis (Dorset), was the statue of Mary Anning. Mary Anning had also lived in Lyme Regis and was a prolific Victorian fossil collector. She changed the science of Palaeontology. At the age of 12, Mary had discovered the first fossil Ichthyosaur on the beaches of Lyme Regis. Evie's mother had to admit Mary Anning had more or less been forgotten. There was neither statue nor memorial in the town (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/may/21/mary-anning-fossil-hunting-pioneer-statue-lyme-regis-dorset). Evie and her mother started the MaryAnningRocks website and raised £150,000 to have a bronze statue designed, cast and erected in a prominent location. The statue has now been unveiled, by scientist, Dr Alice Roberts. It's pathetic, how the discoveries of women, were simply ignored by the Victorians. It's even more pathetic, it took a schoolgirl and her mum, to right this injustice, using crowdfunding. There must have been numerous opportunities, for the people running Lyme Regis, to celebrate the life of Mary.

Seeing the Changes 1625

In Gorseinon, spotted a Meadow puffball (Lycoperdon pratense). In Loughor, Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) insisted on blooming. In Gorseinon, lots of Tormentil (Potentilla erecta) and Red valerian (Centranthus ruber) were in flower.

Give Us Our Daily Bread?

Ukraine normally exports 9% of the planet's grain. Blockading its ports, stops flour reaching dependent countries. The price of wheat is currently 59% higher than was the case in January. Some people will starve. The Ukraine war is a clear illustration of just how easy it is to produce global food chain collapse (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/22/food-crisis-is-what-happens-when-global-chains-collapse-we-might-need-to-get-used-to-it). Once, globalisation appeared to ensure that food supplies would be plentiful (and relatively cheap?), at least, in developed parts of the world. This interconnected system seems, however, quite fragile. We might need to get used to food crises. Food and water have always had the potential to be used as weapons.

Sex and Drugs and the Immune System

I spent a goodly part of my early research career intrigued by the fact that sex steroids appear to influence the body's production of antibodies. I then went on to rail about the fact, that the vast majority of drugs were developed, using only male laboratory rodents. The 'logic' behind this strategy, was that males were less variable than females. Males didn't have profound reproductive cycles. I recently caught part of a radio programme, pointing out that female humans were more likely than males to experience Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) (https://me-pedia.org/wiki/Sex_differences_in_myalgic_encephalomyelitis_and_chronic_fatigue_syndrome). ME, also known as 'chronic fatigue syndrome', is a lasting response to a viral infection. ME is 3-4 times more common in women than in men. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was initially largely dismissed as a psychosomatic illness. The condition is now, however, accepted to be a disorder of the immune system, impacted on by sex steroids. Other 'chronic inflammatory' diseases, like Long Covid (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8045422/) and Multiple Sclerosis (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3707353/) are also much more common in women. MS is temporarily improved by pregnancy, again suggesting a role for sex steroids in its etiology. We really do have to recognize that a) most chronic inflammatory diseases are more prevalent in women than men and b) drug treatments for these conditions may differ in the genders.