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Bonnie Greer hopes her play will give people a different perspective on the famous characters
American-born writer Bonnie Greer has written a play based on the unlikely friendship between Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald.
Marilyn and Ella is the true story of two iconic females, forging a bond in 1950s' America, interspersed with hit songs from the era including Mack the Knife, Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend and My Funny Valentine.
Ms Greer is resident in the UK and is also a trustee of the British Museum. She is an occasional contributor to BBC Two's Newsnight Review, and was a panel member on BBC One's Question Time when Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, was invited on for the first time.
Why did you want to write a play about Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald?
I was working on a book, and I turned the TV on in the background. There was a programme on called Marilyn in Manhattan, about how Marilyn went to New York in 1955 to kick start her career. She was starting her own production company, the first woman in films to do that. Ella Fitzgerald's face popped up on the screen and it caught my attention.
Tell me about the significance of the Mocambo club?
There was one line about how Marilyn went to Mocambo, the biggest club on the West Coast, and said to the owner if you book Ella Fitzgerald for five nights I will be there every night, which is the equivalent today of Angelina Jolie going to the local club and saying you book Claudia in there I will be front row every night!
Suzie Kennedy and Hope Augustus as Marilyn and Ella
It was revoluntionary. For Marilyn to put herself on the line like that, to put her career on the line, was enormous. Playing Macambo allowed Ella to go to another step. And I just thought what a beautiful story - it made me cry.
Did these two ladies have anything in common?
Yes they were both poor and came from sexually abused childhoods. Ella lost her mother very young and Marilyn's mother was in and out of mental institutions. Both girls were terribly ambitious but were pigeonholed: Marilyn the dumb blonde and Ella the girl who always made you smile. Nothing deeper than that.
Tell me about the director?
Colin McFarlane is the first black British director, actor and producer to use his own money to be in the West End. It is very important that this is known because the United Kingdom is changing so rapidly, it is leading the way with so many cultures influencing and shaping things.
What is exciting about being in the UK today is we have all sorts of problems but this island is a beautiful template for the way the world is changing and moving. There are formats being created that are impacting all over the world.
What is your favourite number in the show?
It has to be I've Got You Under My Skin. Marilyn is really optimistic during the production about getting married to a new man, and starting a production company, and feels she won't have to be the dumb blonde anymore. Ella sings 'don't you know, you fool, you never can win'. That is my favourite moment.
Has the production been in America?
No, I hope it goes to America. People who have seen the show say what they like is that the story is about two women who are not clawing each other to death. It is about a black woman and a white woman, who you wouldn't think have anything in common and yet have everything in common. It also has great songs and gives you a different picture of Marilyn.
Tell me about your new book Obama Music?
It is a little bit about my life growing up on the south side of Chicago and growing up in the 60s. Obama says even though he was a little boy in the 60s he is very much rooted in the 60s.
In the book I take you all the way back to the great migration of African Americans to Chicago. I look at it through the portal of Jazz , Blues, Gospel and Soul and talk about Obama as the epitome of all these great music styles.
Tell me about your involvement with the British Museum?
I have been part of the British Museum as a trustee for five years. The museum is becoming a place where distortions about history are being met and challenged. I think the big issue now for the 21st Century is the clarification of history. We are building a new world conservation centre which I urge everyone to help us to build .
I have to ask you about your recent appearance on Question Time, what was it like for you?
There was a lot of pressure two weeks before, I was getting something like 40 calls a day. I thought to myself I am not here to represent anyone but me. If it doesn't work for you then I am sorry, but I was determined to be the best me.
Within five minutes of Nick Griffin talking, I just thought 'this guy is like your brother-in-law's friend from the pub talking at Sunday lunch'. This guy isn't worth you justifying your existence, he doesn't care about you he only cares about himself and just seemed so chuffed to be on Question Time.
Bonnie Greer was talking to BBC News reporter Claudia Redmond.
Marilyn & Ella playing at the Apollo Theatre on 15, 22 and 29 November.


On October 25, 1986: The man responsible for the 2006 internet smash hit “Chicken Noodle Soup,” DJ Webstar, was born in Harlem. The song’s popularity led him to be signed by Universal Music. His most recent single was released in 2010 and is titled “Tipsy.”
WHEN THREE BECOME ONE
On October 25, 1929: Groundbreaking for the construction of the Triborough Bridge began in Astoria Park. It was built to connect Manhattan, Queens, and theBronx, and opened to traffic seven years later.Today the bridge carries around 165,000 passengers each day.
NO MORE DAILY NEWS
On October 25, 1990: The New York Daily News went on strike. It lasted until March of 1991 and turned violent at its start when roughly 200 drivers attacked vehicles at the plant. The New York Daily News, at the time of the strike, was the country’s second-largest metropolitan daily newspaper.


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- Carcanet 2011; US$ 14.51
Inspired by the flotsam of contemporary culture, Philip Terry transforms Shakespeare's sonnet sequence into a celebration of language unleashed. The results are as disrespectful and anarchic as a cartoon - and as assured in their control of line. Philip Terry, an acclaimed translator of the poetry of Raymond Queneau, plays language games by the rules... more...
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R.S. Thomas (1913-2000) is one of the major poets of our time, as well as one of the finest religious poets in the English language and Wales's greatest poet. This substantial gathering of his late poems shows us the final flowering of a truly great poet still writing at the height of his powers right through his 70s and 80s. It begins with his autobiographical... more...
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- Carcanet Press Ltd. 2011; US$ 20.95
Compiling the work of writers from Canada, England, Iran, New Zealand, the Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States, this poetry anthology is a celebration of the diversity and possibility of new poetry in English. Ranging in age from early 20s to late 60s, each poet offers a different approach to language and form. Poetry... more...
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Reintroducing the poetry and prose of a remarkable poet, editor, and critic, this is a comprehensive selection of Andrew Crozier?s work. A definitive anthology, it offers insight into Crozier?s influences and praises him for championing writing excluded from the familiar canon, and for helping to create a space for new voices within English poetry.... more...
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- Taylor and Francis 2012; US$ 140.00
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Presents a collection of the most well-known and best-loved nursery rhymes, along with some that may be less familiar. This book examines the history of rhymes, how they have evolved through the centuries, and the controversies surrounding their origins. It looks at classic favourites such as "Humpty Dumpty", "Ring O' Roses" and "Georgie Porgie". more...

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Projects per year
Abstract / Description of output
Synonymous recoding of RNA virus genomes is a promising approach for generating attenuated viruses to use as vaccines. Problematically, recoding typically hinders virus growth, but this may be rectified using CpG dinucleotide enrichment. CpGs are recognised by cellular zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP), and so in principle, removing ZAP sensing from a virus propagation system will reverse attenuation of a CpG-enriched virus, enabling high titre yield of a vaccine virus. We tested this using a vaccine strain of influenza A virus (IAV) engineered for increased CpG content in genome segment 1. Virus attenuation was mediated by the short isoform of ZAP, correlated with the number of CpGs added, and was enacted via turnover of viral transcripts. The CpG-enriched virus was strongly attenuated in mice, yet conveyed protection from a potentially lethal challenge dose of wildtype virus. Importantly for vaccine development, CpG-enriched viruses were genetically stable during serial passage. Unexpectedly, in both MDCK cells and embryonated hens' eggs that are used to propagate live attenuated influenza vaccines, the ZAP-sensitive virus was fully replication competent. Thus, ZAP-sensitive CpG enriched viruses that are defective in human systems can yield high titre in vaccine propagation systems, providing a realistic, economically viable platform to augment existing live attenuated vaccines.
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- Influenza A virus/genetics
- Influenza Vaccines
- Vaccine Development
- Vaccines, Attenuated
- Viral Vaccines/genetics
- Virus Replication
FingerprintDive into the research topics of 'CpG dinucleotide enrichment in the influenza A virus genome as a live attenuated vaccine development strategy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
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domain: medical


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BitPagos is the name of the Bitcoin-related payment processing company that is making the most of the Argentinian crypto-wave. The South-American startup, based in Argentina, recently participated in the latest class provided by the Boost.vc Accelerator program.
Pretty much everybody in the Bitcoin community already heard about the problems affecting the Argentinian peso, like the inflation rate between 10 and 11 percent per year during the last decade, and how that is making people turn to Bitcoin. So, BitPagos decided to add Bitcoin to its processing options and the results are quite positive.
The platform is considered a creative alternative for the banking barrier that is consistently blocking large scale transactions through international exchanges, despite the huge demand. The company is completely focused on the Latin American markets, with a special attention to Argentina, helping to bring Bitcoin into the country’s economy without the need to exchange Argentinian pesos.
By processing credit card and Bitcoin transactions, BitPagos is mainly targeting the merchants most sought out by tourists, like hotels or restaurants. The firm recently reached a combined business volume of $10,000 per week, but most of it still comes from credit cards. However, something is clearly changing. According to Serrano, the merchants initially swapped most of their Bitcoin payments to fiat, but now many are holding between one and 10 BTC and continue to transact with it, even using cryptocurrency to pay their suppliers.
To effectively operate in this market, the startup has partnered up with the Argentine Bitcoin exchange Cryptocambios, which is helping BitPagos making the swaps easier. In Chile, the country BitPagos is now conquering, the platform is going to team up with the exchange Yaykuy.

domain: finance


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Almost 18 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally, and 685,000 have now died.
Nearly 300,000 people were reported infected in the past 24 hours and 6400 dead.
Here are the latest developments from around the world.
Ireland’s chief medical officer on Saturday described a recent spike in COVID-19 infections as “concerning”, as the average number of cases per day doubled from around 20 in recent weeks to over 40 over the past five days.
Ireland, which still has lower infection rates than much of Europe, reported 45 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, down from a two-month high of 85 cases on Thursday.
“Over the last five days we have seen an average of 44 cases a day. This trend is clearly concerning,” Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn said.
Thousands marched in Berlin on Saturday to protest against measures imposed in Germany to stem the coronavirus pandemic, saying they violated people’s rights and freedoms.
The gathering, estimated by police at 17,000, included libertarians, constitutional loyalists and anti-vaccination activists. There was also a small far-right presence with some marchers carrying Germany’s black, white and red imperial flag.
Protesters danced and sang ‘We are free people!’ to the tune of rock band Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’. Others marched with placards saying ‘We are making a noise because you are stealing our freedom!’ and ‘Do think! Don’t wear a mask!’.
Russia’s health minister is preparing a mass vaccination campaign against the coronavirus for October, local news agencies reported on Saturday, after a vaccine completed clinical trials.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would postpone the next stage of lockdown easing for at least two weeks due to a pick-up in infection rates.
US coronavirus deaths rose by over 25,000 in July and cases doubled in 19 states during the month, according to a Reuters tally, dealing a crushing blow to hopes of quickly reopening the economy.
The United States recorded 1.87 million new cases in July, bringing total infections to 4.5 million, for an increase of 69 percent. Deaths in July rose 20 percent to nearly 154,000 total.
The biggest increases in July were in Florida, with over 310,000 new cases, followed by California and Texas with about 260,000 each. All three states saw cases double in June.
Cases also more than doubled in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the tally.
The news that more states could be hard hit by the virus comes a day after the US reported that gross domestic product collapsed at a 32.9 percent annualised rate in the second quarter, the nation’s worst economic performance since the Great Depression.
Two major drug companies will supply the US government with 100 million doses of an experimental vaccine, the Trump administration said on Friday, as the nation’s top health agency predicted that fatalities would rise in the coming weeks.
Mexico surpassed Britain as the country with the third-highest coronavirus death toll on Friday, as the pandemic reaches new milestones in Latin America and threatens to disrupt efforts to reopen the region’s economies.
Vietnam’s coastal city of Danang plans to test its entire population of 1.1 million people for coronavirus infection, the governing authorities said on Saturday, as 40 new cases linked to the tourist hot spot were reported across the country, taking total infections to 586, with three deaths.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday ordered his coronavirus task force to address the concerns of more than a million doctors and nurses who called for reviving strict lockdowns after a third day of record infections.
But the government cast doubt on the request of the frontline healthcare workers to revive strict lockdowns of the populous area in and around the capital Manila.
In the largest call yet from medical experts to contain the virus, 80 groups representing 80,000 doctors and a million nurses, said the Philippines was losing the fight against COVID-19 and warned of a collapse of the healthcare system from soaring infections without tighter controls.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the capital and nearby provinces cannot afford a return to lockdown, that people “need to manage and live with the virus, which is here to stay,” and that there are other ways to prevent its spread.
South Korean authorities arrested the founder of a secretive Christian sect at the centre of the country’s largest outbreak of COVID-19 infections on Saturday for allegedly hiding crucial information from contact-tracers and other offences.
Australia’s second most populous state, Victoria, reported 397 cases of the new coronavirus on Saturday, down by more than a third from Friday, but authorities said they are considering further restrictions as numbers remain worrisome.
Middle East and Africa
Kuwait has banned until further notice commercial flights to 31 countries it regards as high risk due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Saturday.
The countries include India, Pakistan, Egypt, the Philippines, Lebanon and Sri Lanka, which all have large numbers of expatriates in Kuwait. The list also includes China, Iran, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and Iraq.
Reuters / Newshub.
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Deroyal Hand Control Mittens with Hook and Loop Closure has breathable cool knit or cotton construction with a double-padded design. The cool knit option provides hand visibility. The finger separators help prevent tactile movement. The Deroyal Hand Control Mitts with Therapy Ball is intended to help prevent patients from disturbing medical treatment.
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When Dorothy first contacted me about being the photographer for her wedding to Hunter in the North Carolina mountains outdoors, I was very excited and knew I wanted to document their day. I had just shot their friends’ Tracy’s and Tyler’s Raleigh wedding, and I love all the people in their group. They are full of energy and super fun to be around. And when Dorothy told me the wedding was to be at Twickenham House in Jefferson, N.C. — nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Ashe County — I knew I had to be a part of it. Twickenham is a stunning venue, with a beautiful house and guest house; stunning mountain views and hundreds of acres of property and trails. I knew a Fall wedding at Twickenham, with the changing leaves, would be gorgeous.
The day of the wedding was clear and crisp, with a high around 40 degrees outdoors. There was snow on the ground from a couple days previous, which made for some good photographic moments. Twickenham was filled with Dorothy’s and Hunter’s family and friends, who helped add all the special touches to the day that made it so memorable. The afternoon, Fall light during the ceremony was beautiful, and the mountains provided a great backdrop for the outdoor wedding photography during the ceremony. And, even though I know they were freezing, Dorothy and Hunter hiked the 200 years uphill after the service for some stunning wedding photos with the Blue Ridge mountains in the background. After that, the fabulous dinner and partying made the day complete. Thanks to Jeffrey Minnish for helping out with the wedding photography.
I’m so glad I got to be a part of your day, Dorothy and Hunter. You guys are amazing.

domain: artistic


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- Pruning Succulent Plants
- Can You Trim Succulents? Absolutely!
- How to Propagate Succulents; Buy the Succulent Plant Propagation E-Book; Click on the picture to find out more and purchase:
- What tools will I need?
- How do I Trim the Stems of Succulents?
- But where exactly do I cut the stem?
- What happens next?
- Callous the Cuttings
- Then What? Propagating the Cuttings
- What are the best tools for pruning?
- Winterizing Succulents E-Course
- Pinching Back: Tips For Pinching A Plant
- Define Pinching Plants
- Why Do You Pinch Plants?
- How to Pinch a Plant
- The Art Of Pinching
- Pinching and Pruning – From the Plants’ Perspective
- Pinching Indoor and Outdoor Plants into Beautiful Specimens
- Give Your Plants a Pinch
- Pinching back plants keeps them compact, increases blooms
- A Gardening Tip: Pinching Flowers to Prolong Bloom, When and How
- The concept behind pinching is pretty simple, but the practice gets complicated.
- Pinching out bedding plants
- Why pinch out bedding plants?
- How to pinch out your plants
Pruning Succulent Plants
Can You Trim Succulents? Absolutely!
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Succulent plants, like any other plant, sometimes outgrow their space and require pruning or trimming. As they get older, they can get top heavy and fall over even in a large pot.
Any diseased part of a succulent plant should be removed, even though in most cases they have the ability to compartmentalize the damage so it doesn’t spread.
There are no special techniques for pruning succulent plants, other than using sharp tools to avoid any infection.
Pruning off the top of any plant will allow the other buds to grow – sometimes with impressive exuberance. This has the effect of making the plant bushier, as each lower bud grows to form a new smaller shoot. You can direct the growth by cutting just above a bud facing the right direction.
So go ahead, prune your succulents and don’t be afraid – most succulent plants are very forgiving and you can always propagate the pieces you cut off to make many more beautiful succulent plants.
There are several reasons why you should prune your collection of succulent plants:
- When they are leggy from not enough light exposure (keep them in a warm bright area for best growth);
- Or when you want to propagate them.
How to Propagate Succulents;
Buy the Succulent Plant Propagation E-Book; Click on the picture to find out more and purchase:
Many people dislike the look of a succulent plant that has a long corky stem with a ‘palm tree’ effect, the rosette of the plant forming a tuft on the top. To make a new plant with the low growing rosette form that most collectors treasure, you must behead or decapitate your succulent plant.
It sounds harsh, I know, but you have to be cruel to be kind – and in this case, the plant will respond with a miracle – more baby plants that you can propagate lower down on the stem – so don’t discard it.
Look at the picture and follow the instructions below for exactly how to do it:
What tools will I need?
Most succulents are thin enough that a pair of scissors will cut through the stems, but occasionally you’ll need something a little sturdier (especially to behead Echeveria with their woody stems).
My recommendation is a pair of Felco pruners. These are ‘bypass’ pruners, which means they don’t crush the stems of the succulent plants, and also you can buy parts for them, such as the blades and springs. I’ve still got my second pair that are now going on thirty years old! Caution; there are lots of pruners that look similar; don’t get sucked in to buying a knock off – they’re cheaply made and wont’ last.
My other go-to pruning tool is a pair of Japanese bonsai scissors – keep these dry – they’re not stainless steel, so they’ll rust. A quick wipe after using with an oily rag will protect them.
How do I Trim the Stems of Succulents?
Clip the stems of long overgrown succulents in the places indicated by the red lines: a) These top rosettes will root quickly and give you many nicely shaped new plants for almost instant gratification – plant them right into a succulent planter for immediate impact.
b) The long sprawly stems are useful too – so don’t be too hasty to throw them away. Stick them (right side up of course) into some potting soil, and they’ll root and send up new growth.
c) Now you’re left with a pot of dead sticks – but are they really dead? You’ll be amazed at the life left in these seemingly used up dregs. Water carefully (not too much) until they show signs of new growth, then fertilize them, and stand back!
But where exactly do I cut the stem?
Here’s a diagram for where to make the cut – just above a set of leaves. Don’t leave a long stub of the stem, because it will just start to rot (and look weird).
For stems without leaves where it’s hard to see where the leaves used to be, just cut them and let them make the new shoots, then retrim them a bit shorter if necessary.
What happens next?
It’s hard to believe the miracle of new growth, those tiny shoots that will emerge. This is what it might look like;
Generally, the top most shoots will be the larger ones, those lower down a bit smaller. Those hidden, dormant buds are where the magic happens but only once the top of the plant is cut off.
Callous the Cuttings
There is one crucial point when you’re beheading the rosettes of succulent plants to propagate: the end of the cut beheaded part must be allowed to callous or dry to be able to form roots.
Then What? Propagating the Cuttings
I usually either let the cutting dry out, sometimes for a long time, after which it happily forms lots of thread like pink roots.
Otherwise, I put them in a communal flat with dry Sunshine Mix #4 or other well drained succulent soil. Simply place them on top of the soil, and the roots will find their own way down.
It sounds counter intuitive, as all cuttings have to have water – don’t they?
Succulent plants are the exception, and will root perfectly well without excess water.
After a couple of days to several weeks you can water – make sure your drench thoroughly, and then allow to dry out again.If you spray only the surface of the soil close to the cutting, this encourages the roots to get started, but as soon as the succulent is rooted (tug gently on it to test this) you can water more thoroughly.
Pruning succulent plants to take cuttings is only one reason to prune – the other is to make them break new shoots from lower down on the stem by removing the top bud which secretes auxins.
What are the best tools for pruning?
The best tools are pruners, my preference is the Felco line which are bypass pruners, not anvil pruners. Anvil types can crush the stem, which invites disease in.
Check out this selection of Fiskars pruners from Amazon.com. These are hands down my favorite (and most reliable) cutting tools.
My other favorite pruning tools are Japanese bonsai scissors, which are slender enough to reach well into the plant. This makes it possible to snip off any of the growth you don’t want, while leaving the buds that you want to keep.
I usually sterilize the pruners between plants with Isopropyl alcohol. This is especially important to prevent transferring diseases from one plant to another if any of them are infected.
I sometimes use a weed whacker to cut back the dead flower heads of low growing creeping Sedum or stonecrop; works like a charm, but in most cases sharp scissors, pruners or a razor blade are best for more precise work.
Some of my favorite succulents are many of the beautiful Echeveria, Graptopetalum and Crassula, which benefit from the removal of long leggy growth by creating a bushier and more compact plant.
Special pruning techniques are needed to make a Crassula bonsai.
Japanese Bonsai Scissors
Pruning succulent plants is not difficult – try not to bruise the leaves as you behead your plant – some of my favorite propagation tools that are also used for pruning are a pair of Japanese bonsai scissors or a scalpel, as they can reach in without damaging the leaves.
The pieces you cut off in the process can be used for vegetative propagation such as cuttings.
Want your succulents to survive the winter? Learn how to bring them indoors and be happy and healthy with this free e-course; Fill in your name and email address on the form below to enroll!
Winterizing Succulents E-Course
Tender Succulent Plants
Succulent House Plants
Succulent Plant Propagation
Pinching Back: Tips For Pinching A Plant
Gardening has many odd terms that may confuse a new gardener. Among these is the term “pinching.” What does it mean when you are pinching plants? Why do you pinch plants? You may also be wondering how to pinch a plant? Keep reading to learn more about pinching back plants.
Define Pinching Plants
Pinching plants is a form of pruning that encourages branching on the plant. This means that when you pinch a plant, you are removing the main stem, forcing the plant to grow two new stems from the leaf nodes below the pinch or cut.
Why Do You Pinch Plants?
Many gardening experts have tips for pinching a plant, but few actually explain why. There are may reasons for pinching back a plant.
The biggest reason for pinching plants is to force the plant into a more full form. By pinching back, you force the plant to grow twice as many stems, which results in a fuller plant. For plants like herbs, pinching back can help the plant to produce more of their desirable leaves.
Another reason for pinching plants is to keep a plant compact. By pinching the plant, you are forcing the plant to focus on regrowing lost stems rather than growing height.
How to Pinch a Plant
How to pinch a plant is actually pretty easy. The term “pinching” comes from the fact that gardeners actually use their fingers (and fingernails if they have them) to pinch off the tender, new growth at the end of the stem. You can also use a sharp pair of pruning shears to pinch the ends.
Ideally, you want to pinch the stem as close to above the leaf nodes as possible.
Now that you know how to pinch a plant and why do you pinch plants, you can start pinching your own plants. If you follow these tips for pinching a plant, you can bring out the best shape and fullness in your plants.
The Art Of Pinching
People get confused when we share tips on growing basil with them. One of the tips we share is pinching the top of the leaves off when the basil is in its early growth stage.
“Cut? Pluck? Where? Pinch?? How to pinch?” is the usual response that follows. Seems like they are only familiar with the idea of pinching someone rather than pinching a plant.
The Dictionary.com definition of pinching is ” to squeeze or compress between the finger and thumb, the teeth, the jaws of an instrument, or the like.”
Pinching is a form of pruning that encourages branching on the plant. It is is the act of removing an upper portion of a stem on an herb plant in order to encourage new leaf growth from the lower dormant leaf buds.
As long as there is growth above it, the lower leaf buds will not grow. But, if the stem above a leaf bud is removed, the plant signals to the dormant leaf buds closest to the missing stem to grow. Since a plant normally produces these dormant leaf buds in pairs, when you take one stem off, two leaf buds will start to produce two new stems.
This means that when you pinch a plant, you are removing the main stem, forcing the plant to grow 2 more new stems from the leaf nodes below the pinch.
So why do we need to pinch the plant?
By pinching the plant, you are forcing the plant into a fuller form. By the act of pinching, you can force the plant to grow twice as many stems and leaves. Pinching back is common, especially for herb plants where having more leaves is desirable.
In the example of basil, the basil will start to grow sideways into a fuller, bushier plant.
This also keeps the plant compact as the plant will focus on regrowing lost stems rather than height. Which is great, especially for herbs growing in Plantui.
So where and how do we start pinching?
So where does the term “pinching” come from? This term comes from the fact that gardeners usually use their fingers to pinch off the tender, new growth at the end of the stem. Ideally, you should start pinching or cutting the stem as close to the leaf nodes as possible.
Many people are afraid to pinch or cut their plants because they are not sure when and how to do it. This form of deliberate pinching should be done when the plant is small or when you are not harvesting much. Frequency of pinching can be every week or so and this will not damage your plant or herb. In fact, it is important to do so for the healthy growth of the plant.
On a side note, herbs such as mint, they need more than a pinch or a trim – cutting it right back will ensure a continuous healthy supply.
So start pinching your plants today and watch them grow!
Update (4/9/17): Basil plant pinched and started growing 2 more nodes!
Pinching and Pruning – From the Plants’ Perspective
I spend a lot of my time trying to look at life from a plant’s point of view. While this can make me an odd conversationalist at times – it also makes me a better gardener. In so many ways, understanding what your plants need and why they need it can help you to have bigger, more beautiful plants – often with less effort on your part. Today, let’s look at pruning, pinching and deadheading from the plant’s perspective.
Root Shoot Ratio
A plant’s roots take in water and nutrients from the soil to share with the rest of the plant. Leaves, too, take in important resources – sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) – to be converted into energy and shared throughout the plant. Leaves also release waste in the form of moisture and oxygen into the environment. Roots and leaves are equally important organs for a plant to survive and thrive. Neither can work long or well without the other being healthy and strong.
Each type of plant develops an ideal ratio or relative size between their roots and their leafy top growth that is ideal for that type of plant to be healthy and to thrive. This is called the Root to Shoot Ratio. While rose bushes might prefer a bit different root to shoot ration than bean plants or oak trees, each type of plant does have a natural ratio that suits it best. Very generally speaking, this ideal ratio is roughly 1 to 1, (or it is often expressed as 1:1) meaning a plant should have about the same mass of roots as it has top growth to support.
The importance of this root to shoot ratio is fundamental to the plant’s health, and it is always putting energy into maintaining that balance. When something occurs to radically alter that balance, the plant goes into over drive to re-establish the balance. This is something gardeners use in order to get the results we want for our gardens.
Pruning, Pinching and Deadheading Plants
When we prune or pinch back plants to improve their shape or for better blooms and fruit, or deadhead for repeat blooming, we are taking advantage of the biological responses of these plants. When we prune or pinch back the leafy top growth of a growing plant, we radically alter its root to shoot ratio. The plants respond to this by quickly producing a large flush of new top growth in order to bring that important ratio back into balance.
Pinching and pruning work because plants respond to removed top growth by shifting their energies to quickly replace what was lost in order to re-achieve that important root to shoot balance. Plants have evolved this response to damaged top growth to deal with foraging animals and a changing environment.
Plants can be injured by a wide range of factors, and they respond differently based on different causes. And here is where it is helpful to consider things from the plant’s perspective. If your leaves are damaged by a heat wave or drought, these are conditions that tend to last a while. There is no sense in replacing a leaf lost to high heat or drought right away – the new leaf is likely to be lost to the same continuing conditions, right? So the plant tends to regenerate new growth in these conditions rather slowly. But if you get chomped on by a passing goat, this is something to respond to immediately. Foraging animals tend to be on the move toward more food. They don’t hang around a single plant. So rapidly replacing leaves lost to animal predation makes sense, just as waiting to replace leaves stressed by drought.
When to Prune and When to Repair
The plants’ nuanced response to damaged top growth is how we decide when to prune back top growth, and when to leave stressed growth in place to recover. If your plant is responding to very temporary stimulus, like being shipped across country in a packing box, or its pot being knocked off the wall by a passing cat, you know the cause and the duration of the stress, and can help your plant respond to it by pinching or pruning back the affected growth. You know you won’t re-package and ship the plant again, and the cat won’t be back soon, so removing any damaged growth will tell the plant to quickly replace that growth with fresh new leaves. But if you live in an area with a lot of wind, and your young plants are stressed by this, it is best to leave the damaged growth in place, as this encouraged the plant to adapt to conditions you know to be on-going. When possible, we limit the plant’s exposure to the sun or wind or cold conditions we want it to adapt to, gradually increasing the time of exposure. With seedlings started indoors, we call this process “hardening off”.
We also deliberately choose what parts of a plant to remove and we time it for the purpose of getting larger blooms and better fruit. Pruning fruit trees, or pinching back and topping dahlias are good examples of this. When we pinch back, top or prune plants, we are using their natural response to foraging animals to work to our benefit. We specifically cut back their top growth where and when we need to in order to stimulate that flush of new growth exactly where and when we want it.
Pruning, pinching back, topping and even dead heading are all methods of strategically removing certain top growth to cause the plant to replace it with growth that will please us. Better understanding why the plant responds this way, and how it does so will better help you to learn and employ these techniques in your garden.
The timing and techniques used for topping, pruning, pinching and deadheading can vary between different types of plants. But the reason these different techniques are employed, and the reason they work is all due to the natural responses plants use to respond to different types of stress.
We will have many more articles looking at life from the plants’ perspective. What do you think – did this give you a better – or different – understanding of how plants respond to stress in your garden? Feel free to drop a comment and let me know; or let me know if there is a specific thing you would like the plant’s perspective on – I will do my best! 🙂
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Pinching Indoor and Outdoor Plants into Beautiful Specimens
Gardeners and garden books often tell you to pinch back your plants for fuller more compact growth. But we often fail to give the details that put you at ease and increase your success.
Pinching is used by gardeners to remove part of the plant. This term is usually used with flowers and houseplants. Many people use their fingers to break off part of the stem. Others use sharp garden scissors or hand pruners for quicker more precise results.
A soft pinch removes just the upper most portion of the stem where the leaves and tip are starting to develop. A hard pinch removes a longer portion of the stem. The tip and several inches of stem are usually removed. These stem pieces can be used to start new plants. Pinch stems just above a set of leaves so the remaining plant still looks good while you wait for new leaves and stems to grow.
A bit more information: Pinching removes a growth hormone produced in the stem tip called auxin. This hormone encourages upward growth of the stem. Removing the stem tip reduces the auxin and allows more branches to develop along the stem.
Give Your Plants a Pinch
by Tom Stebbins
Give Your Plants a Pinch
Pinching plants will not put you in jail for cruelty to petunias. Pinching is a form of pruning that experienced gardeners use to their advantage. The term “pinching” comes from the fact that gardeners actually use their fingers to pinch off the tender new growth at the terminal end of the stem. The index finger and thumb are used to crush or pinch off the growing tip. About an inch or less of the tip is removed. Usually a sharp fingernail helps in the pinching process.
Plants are naturally trying to grow taller. They stretch toward the sun for their survival. Gardeners don’t always like tall lanky plants. They often prefer more compact and fuller looking plants. Call it discrimination if you want. Cheers for the short stocky individuals. Pinching plants forces the plant into a fuller form. One pinch causes the plant to grow twice as many stems. For herbs like basil, pinching back can help the plant produce many more desirable leaves.
Pinching also keeps a plant compact. It forces the plant to focus on regrowing lost stems, rather than growing height. Sometimes nature performs a natural pinching. A late spring freeze nips off the tender growing tips. This causes the dormant buds to open up and replace the lost leader. Insects chewing and leaf diseases can cause the same thing to happen. The plants have these extra buds in reserve just in case there is damage to the terminal buds.
Similar to humans, plants have many hormones which regulate growth. Two primary plant hormones are auxins and cytokinins. Auxins are produced in leaves and stems. Cytokinins are produced in the roots. Knowing how these chemicals work enables gardeners to do magical things with plants. The rooting hormones sold at garden centers often contain auxins which will stimulate rooting in leaf or stem cuttings. It is the high natural auxin concentration in the tip which causes a plant to grow tall. This is called apical dominance. Pinching temporarily reduces auxin which takes away the apical dominance. This enables the side buds to start growing.
A plant should be pinched back before it is begins to flower. For example, gardeners can pinch back chrysanthemums in midsummer. Start by pinching back the tip of each shoot when the plants are four or five inches tall. Pinch back the plants every time the side shoots grow four or five new leaves–about once every few weeks. Stop after around the first of July. Once the days become shorter mums will form flower buds. So the plant will grow more lateral branches that will produce more flowers.
Pinching out is also the term used when small side shoots are completely removed. This is done when single stems are desired instead of multiple shoots. Now is the time to pinch out soft green side shoots on dogwood, crape myrtle, maple and many other woody plants. Once they grow tough and woody these shoots will have to be pruned out with metal tools.
On grafted roses, any green stems that grow below the graft union are called suckers. These should be pinched off or rubbed off because they sap energy from the plant.
Deadheading is a form of pinching. It happens after blooming. Deadheading removes spent flowers and developing seed pods. This causes the plant to stop expending energy on old blooms. It redirects nutrients to new growth and eventually more new flowers.
Insects can often be controlled without pesticides if careful scouting and removal is immediate. In many situations the critters can be pinched with your fingers or pushed into a can of soapy water. Wearing gloves during this pinching operation is optional.
Fingers are amazing gardening tools. In many cases they are the only tools that can accomplish delicate and precision operations in the garden. So go ahead and pinch your plants. They won’t scream too loudly.
For more Hamilton County gardening information and calendar of events go to www.mghc.org
Pinching back plants keeps them compact, increases blooms
Question: A friend was telling me how she pinches back a lot of her perennials this time of year because it keeps them shorter and then she doesn’t have to stake them. She says it doesn’t hurt their flowers, but I don’t understand how that can be. I know you pinch back mums, but are there other plants you can pinch without removing their flowers?
Answer: Pinching is an important practice for certain plants, though it certainly isn’t a necessary one. Pinching removes the growing point of each plant stem, which encourages branching. As a result, it also keeps the plant more compact.
Pinching back a plant removes the initial flower bud. This causes the pinched shoot to develop into two new branches. Eventually, the now-branched stem will form two new flower buds, essentially doubling the number of flowers by going from one flower bud to two.
Pinching also delays the flowering period by a few weeks, extending the garden’s bloom time, if it’s done properly.
While you can pinch back every stem on a particular perennial, I find it’s better to remove the growing tips of only half of the stalks in each clump. This means that those stems left unpinched will flower first. Then, the stems that were pinched continue to develop and produce flowers several weeks after the first batch have faded. Pinching can cause a single plant to be in bloom for two or three months, instead of three or four weeks!
It’s important to realize, however, that not all perennials respond to pinching. If you pinch a perennial that forms only a single flower bud or stalk per year, you’ll be removing the opportunity for it to flower, rather than encouraging more blooms. For example, never pinch a peony or any plant with elongated, blade-like foliage such as iris, daylilies, red hot pokers, true lilies and ornamental grasses. Others on the do-not-pinch list are those that generate their flower stalks directly from the base of the plant, rather than from atop a leafy stem. Plants on this list include hostas, astilbes, and coralbells.
Pinching should take place here in Pennsylvania sometime in mid- to late June. Don’t pinch later than July 4 as it does not allow the plant enough time to form flower buds before the end of the season. In other words, it delays the blooming too much!
To pinch perennials, use a clean pair of shears or your thumb and forefinger to remove the top few inches of growth. You can remove up to half of the plant’s height. I selectively remove every other stem tip until about half of the stalks have been pinched. Other gardeners pinch back the entire plant.
Here are some common perennials that respond well to pinching: phlox, monarda, sedums, mums, asters, helenium, monkshood, obedient plant, Joe-pye weed, iron weed, Russian sage, heliopsis, veronica, veronicastrum, boneset, artemisia, turtlehead and nepeta.
By pinching back certain plants, you can extend your garden’s bloom time, increase the number of beautiful blooms, and keep tall, lanky plants more compact.
Horticulturist Jessica Walliser is the author of several gardening books, including “Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden,” “Good Bug, Bad Bug,” and her newest title, “Container Gardening Complete.” Her website is jessicawalliser.com. Send your gardening or landscaping questions to or The Good Earth, 622 Cabin Hill Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601.
Categories: Lifestyles | Jessica Walliser Columns
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A Gardening Tip: Pinching Flowers to Prolong Bloom, When and How
Flowers are starting to bloom! School yourself on flower pinching to determine whether or not you are getting the most out of your flowers.
The following gardening tip is from The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower’s Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers by Lynn Byczynski.
Pinching can be used to increase yield and to prolong bloom. It can be an important strategy for the commercial cut-flower grower, so it’s useful to understand how and when to do it.
When growers talk about pinching flowers, they are referring to the practice of cutting off the top of a flower stem. A “soft pinch” removes just the growing tip (officially called the apical meristem) and less than an inch of stem. A “hard pinch” removes several tiers of leaves and several inches from the top of the stem. When you pinch a plant, it sends out new stems below the spot where you pinched it.
By cutting off the growing tip before it has a chance to bloom, you stimulate the plant to branch and send up multiple stems that bloom at the same time. An unpinched snapdragon, as an example, will send up one flower stem. A snapdragon that is pinched when young will send up multiple flowers. It may seem obvious that you should pinch snaps in order to get more flowers, but not everyone does.
That’s because there’s a trade-off in height and earliness—unpinched snaps are taller and bloom earlier than pinched snaps. Pinching, then, can be a way of extending the bloom time of a specific flower; you can leave some unpinched for an early crop and pinch the rest for later blooms.
The concept behind pinching is pretty simple, but the practice gets complicated.
Some flowers should never be pinched. Those that grow from a rosette of leaves, such as statice, don’t benefit from pinching and will, in fact, become misshapen if you do pinch an emerging stem. Others get too tall and lanky if you don’t pinch them; chrysanthemums and dahlias are good examples. Sometimes seedlings start to bloom in the plug tray, and you have to pinch off the flowers before planting them outside so they will send up new flower stems. (It’s often easiest to shear off the tops of the whole flat with sharp scissors.) Sometimes nature, in effect, pinches your young plants for you: When wind, cold, or hail kills the growing tip, the plant will often branch lower on the stem and rebound, looking much fuller.
When your information reference recommends pinching, it usually will tell you whether you should do a hard or soft pinch, and at what stage in the plant’s development. If there is no mention of pinching, don’t be afraid to experiment on your own. Pinch one side of the bed and leave the other side unpinched, and see if it makes a difference.
As with so many things about flowers, local conditions will determine the best practices. The important thing to remember is that plants want to grow, and you probably aren’t going to hurt them by pinching them—or by not pinching them. Even if you forget to pinch, you can usually compensate by cutting a long stem of the first flower that blooms in the center of the plant. That effectively removes the apical meristem, forcing the plant to send out branches lower down on the stem. Those eventually will grow just as tall as the central stem, and you’ll still get multiple blooms from each plant.
Pinching out bedding plants
You may already “pinch out” tomatoes, but bedding plants benefit from this treatment too.
Image: The Garden Smallholder
‘Pinching’ describes a type of pruning that encourages plants to branch out along the stem to become fuller and more bushy. When you pinch out a plant, you remove the top of the main stem, forcing the plant to grow two new stems from the leaf nodes below the pinch.
Why pinch out bedding plants?
Bedding plants like these fuchsia benefit from being pinched out.
Featured: Fuchsia ‘Delta’s Sarah’
Plants naturally put their energy into growing tall stems to outcompete their neighbours. If left to their own devices, this results in ‘leggy’ plants with fewer flowers.
Pinching out the stem tips of your young plants will prevent this happening, and encourage the buds lower down on the stems to produce side shoots. This creates a stronger and bushier plant with even growth and lots of flowers throughout. It also keeps your plant neat and compact, and focuses the growth on new stems rather than height.
Some of the most popular bedding plants which benefit from being pinched out are:
- • Petunias
- • Fuchsias
- • Dahlias
- • Pelargoniums (geraniums)
- • Antirrhinums
- • Marigolds
- • Sweet peas
How to pinch out your plants
Pinch the growing tips out gently with your fingers.
Image: Roger Crookes
Pinching out is very simple – gardeners normally pinch off the tender new growth at the end of the stem with their fingers. You can also use pruning shears if you prefer.
- • While your plants are still young simply pinch out the growing tip of each stem between your thumb and forefinger.
- • Find a node (or pair of buds) and pinch off the stem just above it.
- • You can do this for a second time once they have produced two or three more sets of leaves.
- • Once you have the shape you desire, stop pinching out and let your plant produce flowers.
- • Remember to water regularly and give your plant a phosphorus-rich liquid feed every so often as you’ve forced the plant to produce more flowers than it intended to.
- • Prolong the flowering period with regular deadheading.
For a quick tutorial, watch our video guide on how to pinch out bedding plants. Keep on top of this quick and easy task and your plants will be bushy and filled with flowers throughout the whole summer!

domain: agronomy


text:
22 April 2003
China Moves Toward non-GMO soybean region/Beware Brazilian Food
Links to various articles + 2 full articles:
* China Moves Toward non-gmo soybean region
* Beware Brazilian Food
The Brazilian article has a rather negative title but in fact it is clear that the new government in Brazil is owning up to the problems there and they should be encouraged in their efforts to deal with the problems of illegal GM seed being planted which some see as part of a deliberate Monsanto strategy to destroy Brazil's conventional soy market. Meanwhile China is moving forward with plans to have the world's largest production area of non-genetically modified soybeans within five years.
Food from Our Changing World: The Globalization of Food and How Americans Feel About It. Survey on US consumer preference, includes a 92% preference for GM food to be labelled. A resource for farmers seeking new markets and figuring out new processing plants, etc. http://www.foodmap.unl.edu/index.asp
Don't Be Fooled By Corporate Greenwashing
The "Don't be Fooled" greenwashing awards, including Kraft and Cargill.
Vietnam urges US aid for Agent Orange victims
Reuters, April 22, 2003
Pink Bollworms Could Adapt to Biotech Cotton
TUCSON, Arizona, April 21, 2003 (ENS) - Researchers have found the pink bollworm has three genetic mutations that confer resistance to genetically modified, or biotech, cotton.
FAO BioDeC: Biotechnologies in Developing Countries
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched FAO-BioDeC, which is a "searchable database meant to gather, store, organize, and disseminate updated baseline information on crop biotechnology products and techniques which are in use, or in the pipeline, in developing countries."
China soybean imports may fall as govt moves to boost output - govt expert
AFX - Asia, April 21, 2003 Monday
China's reliance on soybean imports will decline as production expands, helped by government policies and rising yields, the China Daily reported, citing Xia Youfu, a government expert working on a national soybean research project.
China should be able to produce at least 36 mln tons of soybeans by 2006, easily satisfying domestic demand, Xia said.
Land used for growing soybeans is also expected to expand to 13 mln hectares from 9 mln currently, and with yields standing at 1,620 kg per hectare compared with a world average of 2,340 kg, there is plenty of room for improvement, the paper said.
China currently imports more than 10 mln tons of soybean a year, with the largest supplier being the US.
Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture said China plans to turn the north-east region into the world's largest production area of non-genetically modified soybeans within five years.
Beware Brazilian Food
In the south of Brazil, some farmers have been illegally cultivating genetically modified soy. In addition, Brazilians have been left without measures to identify GMO's or genetically modified organisms in food products.
Brazilian foods containing soy products are now suspect since President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva signed Provisionary Measure 131 authorizing commercialization of genetically modified soy. Currently, some farmers are cultivating the soy illegally in Rio Grande do Sul. To add to the situation, consumers are faced with another difficulty: how to know if a given soy product contains a GMO (genetically modified organism) or not.
One of the articles of the measure demands that all products that use GMO's indicate as such on the label. However, specialists are saying that this is not going to be an easy task. Carlos Sperotto, the president of the Farmers' Federation of Rio Grande do Sul-a group which will benefit from the Measure 131-admitted that it will be impossible to label the GMO soy because the total harvest is sold in huge volumes, and GMO soy is harvested together with conventional soy.
Without labeling, the consumer will have no way of knowing if the product contains GMO's. "If the farmers do not do the identification, then the government should take responsibility for the risks. As it is, you are awarding the producer who is breaking the law and you are penalizing the population," said Marlene Lazzarini, coordinator of the Institute in Defense of the Consumer (Idec).
The new measure stipulates a US$ 6,000 fine for those who do not do the identification. Lazzarini announced that Idec will test all of the products derived from soy. If a component of a GMO is found without identification, the industry will be penalized. "So the industry will blame the farmer who didn't identify the product and the government will have to resolve one more problem."
According to Jean Marc von der Weid, the coordinator of the "Brazil Free of GMO's" campaign, the federal government gave in to the political pressure exercised by large-scale farmers and by Monsanto, the U.S. based company that retains the patent on Roundup Ready soy (which uses GMO's). Mr. von der Weid theorized that Monsanto has a geo-political strategy to destroy Brazil's conventional soy market, which is the world's largest exporter of conventional soy. "From their point of view, if Brazil surrenders, the other countries resistance to GMO's will also give in." Some policy makers suggested that if the government allows the production of GMO's then at least this harvest should be exported. However, this solution was vetoed as some said it would adversely affect the "Circulation of Goods and Services Tax" of Rio Grande do Sul. According to the governor, the state would lose nearly US$ 300,000.
The genetically modified soy will be commercialized until January 31, 2004, after which time the entire stock will be burned and the fields be cleared of the soy before the 2004 crop. "This process of decontamination guarantees that the next harvest will be conventional. This is a great defeat for Monsanto," said Friar S?rgio G?rgen, coordinator of the MPA (Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores-Movement of Small Farmers." However, he noted that the federal government will need to be rigorous in monitoring the fields. "Next year, the social movements will have great difficulties in preserving conventional seeds."
The use of GMO's has yet to be properly evaluated in terms of health-risks. In the U.S., no studies have been done to determine if certain diseases or illnesses are a result of the consumption of GMO's. As a precautionary measure, European countries demand that products that contain GMO's be labeled as such.
According to Rubens Nodare of the Federal University of Santa Catarina, the chemicals used on soy plants may provoke allergies. This is because soy has three types of allergenic proteins. Genetically modified soy can contain a greater quantity of these proteins.
Besides health concerns, there are environmental concerns. The Brazilian Constitution stipulates that a thorough environmental impact study must be conducted before allowing any sort of activity which may be dangerous to the environment. "To allow for the commercialization in this country is not only an affront to the consumer, but a break from the Federal Constitution," commented Ventura Barbeiro, an agricultural engineer.
Brief History of the Juridical Battle over GMO's
1995-Implementation of the Law of Bio-security and the creation of the National Technical Commission of Bio-security (CTNBio). Use of GMO's must have the authorization of this Commission.
1996-Monsanto begins research with genetically-modified soy in Brazil
1998-CTNBio approves of the use of Monsanto's Roundup Ready soy in the south of the country. The authorization was given without an environmental impact study. The consumer watchdog group Idec obtained a court order barring CTNBio's authorization.
2000-Judge Antonio Prudente extends the court order that prohibited the planting of GMO's. The Union and Monsanto try to appeal the decision, but their appeal was denied.
2002-The Union and Monsanto make a new motion which is sill pending vote in the Federal Regional Tribunal. One of the tree judges has already indicated she is in favor of the use of GMO's in the country.
A Few Facts about GMO's
-Nearly 99 percent of all cultivated GMO's are restricted to four countries: United States, Canada, Argentina, and China.
-There are already 30 countries which prohibit the cultivation of GMO's.
-The majority of countries require labeling of GMO's on food products if the GMO's make up more than 5 percent of the product.
-Nearly 80 percent of Europeans do not want to consume products with GMO's.
-What is increasing in the world is not the cultivation of GMO's, but the cultivation of organic products. It is estimated that by 2005 nearly one fourth of all agriculture will be organic.
-If the Brazilian government permits the cultivation of GMO's, five transnational companies will completely dominate the corn, soy, wheat and cotton seed markets. This puts at risk the country's sovereignty,
relying on the good will of these companies.
-During the Fernando Henrique Cardoso presidency, the government gave a low-interest US$ 250 million loan to Monsanto for the construction of a factory which produces Glifosato. Glifosato is the prime material of the Roundup herbicides, generally sold with Roundup Ready genetically-altered seeds. The former president therefore helped to lay the groundwork for the production of genetically-altered seeds.
-If the government had used the aforesaid money to construct domestic water wells in the semi- arid Northeast, the problem of potable water would have been solved for one million families.


Agate is extremely difficult to process in ancient times due to its hard texture. The ancient folk method is to make the agate stone slowly beat into a round shape and then manually grind it. The surface will have traces of tapping. The hole of the bead is slowly ground. The wall is not smooth, there are vertical or horizontal protrusions, the aperture is also inconsistent, the official agate beads are completely ground, the appearance is smooth, the texture is excellent, but the opening method is the same as above, and the characteristics and shape of the hole can be judged from the new Old beads.
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text: The extent to which protein synthesis is involved in working memory was investigated with the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin (ANI). Rats were trained to perform accurately on a 12-arm radial maze when delays of 240 min were interposed between choice 6 and choice 7. Bilateral hippocampal cannulas were then implanted. Accuracy on choices 7-12 was studied when ANI or saline was injected either 30 min before choice 1 or 5-10 min after choice 6 (Experiment 1). Pretrial injection of ANI significantly impaired performance following the 240-min delay, whereas ANI injected during the delay had no such effect. In Experiments 2 and 3, the ANI-induced amnesia was replicated, and the temporal course of development of the amnesia was determined. Pretrial administration of ANI did not significantly affect retention after a 2-min delay but did produce amnesia after delays of 15 min or longer. These data suggest that protein synthesis is important for the formation of temporary memories, provided the retention interval is long enough. It is suggested that working memory includes both short-term and long-term components. Protein synthesis appears to be important for formation of the long-term component, but not the short-term component, of working memory.

domain: biology