S.A.Wakelin

Gold OA has been incredibly detrimental to science. This article discusses one aspect, but there are many others (e.g. proliferation of predatory publishing). We really need to kill it. nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.100…

The School of Biosciences at University of Birmingham is recruiting FIVE Assistant/Associate Profs in areas including fungal biology, plant science and bioengineering. Full details below 🍄🌾🧬🧫

Natalie J. Graham et al. present evidence for phylosymbiosis in the root systems of conifer seedlings in both bacterial and fungal communities. Learn more: doi.org/10.1094/PBIOME… @n_j_day @Steve_ScienceNZ

@GeoffreyKeey I agree we need to move rapidly to low / zero Carbon energy. However, consumers in South Australia pay the highest rates in the country. canstar.com.au/energy/electri…

While the New Zealand Government proposes to tax us to pay for fossil fuel infrastructure, South Australia is slashing electricity prices thanks to renewables.

2/2 more fossil fuels (stranded assets), geothermal (low carbon but not free of emissions), more hydro (any appetite for that?). We need to level the playing field and, at least, seriously consider a future with nuclear.

@bryce_edwards 1/2. we need wider conversation about what a future, first world energy sector for A|NZ needs to look like. Ongoing expansion of 'renewables' which is, essentially, a branding term for selected low C energy sources (we say 'unreliables' instead?),

Delighted to see our work on the impact of drought on the oak microbiome featured on the cover of @cellhostmicrobe Link to the article below this post 👇🏻

@bbqr0ast @farmgeek Yeah, madness right. And the prices are stable over time and dont massively peak either 😂. Nor does it help energy independence nor balance of trade....

@farmgeek @Steve_ScienceNZ Ah yes but the global gas market is notoriously stable, with large friendly countries selling us gas and very few competitors for its use.

Australia’s largest grid battery cost $1.6 billion and stores enough electricity for 780,000 homes! Just a thought if we’re considering blowing a billion on a gas import terminal. reneweconomy.com.au/state-owned-ut…

@Paul_Nield_Oz @farmgeek yes, agreed.

@Steve_ScienceNZ @farmgeek I thought excess solar and wind would stored

@farmgeek It will effectively enable new (imported new) into the grid. But yeah. How much new capacity will we need with electrification of transport, industry etc? How far can smoothing (time shifting) of solar, wind etc by batteries get us? I dont know.

@Steve_ScienceNZ A billion dollar (at least) LNG terminal won’t in itself add any new generation capacity either. We’ll still have to buy the gas at global market rates.

@juhasaarinen hard to tell. The Driven article cites a report from tradingpedia who give the origin of their data as ACEA. The tradingpedia article also separates BEV from hybrids and so on. Perhaps is selection of countries within 'European'. tradingpedia.com/forex-brokers/…

@Steve_ScienceNZ Could it be that ACEA differentiates between BEVs/HEVs/PHEVs? Got this earlier as well: source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global…

"European EV sales surge, surpassing petrol for the first time" drivencarguide.co.nz/news/european-…

Your PhD advisor's publishing advice is calibrated for a world that we buried a decade ago. It's a travel guide to a country that no longer exists. Respect their intent. Ignore their tactics.

Environmental activists should love GMOs and pesticides, because they're earth-friendly tools that cut chemical use, slash CO2 emissions and boost farm income. Why the hate? Let's take a look. 🧵

Using acetaminophen as directed during pregnancy does not increase a child's risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability, a major new review published Friday finds. Read more: abcnews.link/SLL4ldz

Empty words arriving too late. What did Merz ever do for nuclear power in Germany before? And even now, I bet you he will do nothing to restore nuclear power to Germany. Easy enough to say “oops maybe it was a BAD idea to get rid of our one source of reliable, secure, affordable source of baseload that is zero carbon besides. But it is too late to do anything about it except blame the previous administration.” I would love to be pleasantly surprised and Merz should start on the road of assessing how many of the shuttered nuclear reactors can yet be restarted and to schedule the build of new ones. I would never be so happy to admit I was wrong. Alas…I don’t think I am.

@ScottFromRosser @FarmerSimonC yes, but the yield loss from compaction would - I guestimate - outweigh the value of free-living N fixation in these systems. It is typically low. sciencedirect.com/science/articl… link.springer.com/article/10.100… link.springer.com/article/10.100…

@Steve_ScienceNZ @FarmerSimonC Ah very good. Thank you both for the clarification. I think that compaction is an issue in many ag soils that doesnt get enough attention. Interesting that N fixing through Diazotrophs can work there under wet conditions when symbiotic N fixing capacity collapses.

I keep thinking about free living, N fixing bacteria. Like rhizobium in legume nodules, they are anaerobic, they have to seek out pockets of moisture where they can operate. The more aerobic our soils become, the less chance they have of providing any N at all.

@ScottFromRosser @FarmerSimonC BTW this isn't 'free living' or diazotrophic N2 fixation but symbiotic N fixation. Some confusion in the earlier post. In free-living N fixation, saturated/anaerobic soils or microsites are key. This is why it can be useful in waterlogged soils (rice paddies) etc

@ScottFromRosser @FarmerSimonC the oxygen level within the root nodule is regulated by leghemoglobin, creating a microaerobic environment suiting nitrogenase (N fixation). N2 enters via passive diffusion and the structures that regulate oxygen availability do not strongly impede this.