The SCQ is happy to partake in the Week of Science initiative, and will have only textbook pieces for this particular week. If you need a breather, please take a moment to peruse our humour section. That should work nicely – – – Brief With the recent application of metagenomic techniques to wastewater treatment, the “black box” of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) has been opened. Dirty limericks are included to illustrate some key points. The Solution to Pollution is Dilution: The Old School I once took a poo in a bucket It smelled and I wanted to chuck it…
The Science Creative Quarterly
By andrewwylie
Andrew Wylie is a graduate student in the UBC Department of Land and Food Systems whose research has turned him into an avid wastewater enthusiast. His tendency to wander between disciplines often leads from various aspects of science proper over to the philosophy of science and back: he likes to think his writing is resultantly more interesting, but this has yet to be substantiated.
DIGGING IN THE DIRT: IS THE STUDY OF THE RHIZOSPHERE RIPE FOR A SYSTEMS BIOLOGY APPROACH?
Rhizosphere study systems biology an auspicious approach Introduction: the rhizosphere and systems biology. Both complex: maybe perfect for each other? The rhizosphere is complex. Really, really, ridiculously complex. Dauntingly complex even. Quantitatively now, soil has over 10000 distinct microbes in a single gram [7]. The term rhizosphere was coined to describe, literally, the sphere of influence of the plant root (rhiza): a definition which has also come to include not only the area around a root colonized by microorganisms, but also the parts of a root which contain microorganisms [9]. Notwithstanding the multifarious effects of soil chemistry, climate, and other…