July 2008 Archives

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Cloned Pups in the News

Has cloning pets become all the rage in Korea? Seems like it is among the working dog pup-ulation. Here is a piece about it, with adorable photo, from National Geographic News. Link to the full article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/photogalleries/animal-photos-week1/photo2.html

Seoul, South Korea, July 1, 2008 - Who's the cutest? Four puppies cloned from a Labrador retriever pose with researchers at Seoul National University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Two South Korean labs are offering cloning services to pet owners at prices ranging between U.S. $50,000 and $100,000.

Owners of working dogs have been the best customers to date, however. To South Korea's customs service, for example, cloning champion sniffers is a more efficient option than breeding the dogs the old-fashioned way.

Christina
posted July 23, 2008 9:37 PM

I never imagined what a degree in CNR would lead to in my career!

All through my youth I had a passion for the natural sciences and I wanted to follow it in college. During my first two years at Cal I took the prerequisite courses for Biology major, which were just about the same as for any science degree. When trying to decide on what major to declare I looked within the life sciences and earth sciences departments and within the College of Natural Resources (CNR). What attracted me to CNR was the opportunity to learn in a small class setting and have more contact with the professors, and be associated with the college that through its programs was studying the science issues of the day; like the energy crisis, food safety and security and environmental degradation and pollution. Sound familiar! I chose the Soils and Plant Nutrition major because of its overlap with both the life and earth sciences. So in 1977 I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S degree in Soils and Plant Nutrition from the College of Natural Resources.

How did my years at Berkeley prepare me for the future? Besides the courses within the major, like soil classification, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, and plant physiology and biochemistry, I was able to take courses in geology, forest influences and forest soils, ecology, botany, mycology and ag economics. All of the courses included classroom lectures and either lab or field work or both.

One of the best courses offered in the department was a summer field course. Over a six week quarter, UC Berkeley and UC Davis professors covered the study of soils within many of the environments of California for students from both schools. The major offered opportunities for independent study where I worked on the impacts of fluoridated water on the environment in conjunction with the Sierra Club, and the issue of herbicide usage in the Viet Nam war. I conducted trials in the Oxford Tract greenhouse and I worked at the Oxford Tract organic garden. Because of the close contacts with the department and its professors we could access their latest analytical equipment for our work and study. I even found time to work at the US Forest Service Labs in Berkeley and had a small landscaping business in the community. It was a great time to be a student at Berkeley.

Continue reading "I never imagined what a degree in CNR would lead to in my career!" »

John Casazza
posted July 14, 2008 3:34 PM

Good Books!

I recommend the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. Highly enjoyable, light, easy read, fun, and filled with mystical creatures. Mom had these waiting for me after I finished finals, and I ate them up quickly.

With the help of magical milk from a giant cow, a young brother and sister find their way into a magical world. Filled with ancient, nearly extinct creatures of myths, the children roam a space that is some combination of mystical botanic garden and free range zoo. As they make friends with creatures and the humans that tend them, they embark on one fantastic adventure after another in the hopes of saving their friends and all of Fablehaven.


Book 1: Fablehaven


Book 2: Rise of the Evening Star


Book 3: Grip of the Shadow Plague

Book jacket images were taken from these websites:
http://deseretbook.com
http://www.ericdsnider.com
http://amazon.com

Christina
posted July 10, 2008 10:52 PM

Botanic Garden

Today I took my niece and nephew to the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden. They were fascinated by the flowers and the wildlife. They enjoyed learning about the plants, were mystified by their Latin names, and cherished the time doing something different. I brought those two 7-year-olds home well-exercised, tired, but happy. They had a lot of fun relating the adventures they experienced while out and about - the lizards and the butterflies, birds, rabbits, and flowers.

A few of their favorite spots:


The Butterfly Garden


The Bird Habitat

Continue reading "Botanic Garden" »

Christina
posted July 10, 2008 10:11 PM

Wedding photographs

On June 7, I married my sweetheart, Tom.
A friend just sent me couple of photographs of the big day. Thought it'd be fun to share.

The Kiss



Dancing with Daddy.

'twas fun how our first dance and daddy dance worked out. Tom was dancing with me for our first dance, then my dad (with mic in hand) asked to cut in (This was impromptu, he asked the DJ for a mic). Tom passed on my hand, then asked his mom for a dance. They continued the chain for a bit, eventually I was dancing with Tom's dad, my dad was dancing with Tom's mom, and Tom was dancing with my mom.

Christina
posted July 1, 2008 7:20 PM