Flower Power! The Secret Science Club presents Plant Geneticist Rob Martienssen, Wednesday, August 24, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

Rob Martienssen studies the strange genetics and sex lives of plants—and his garden-variety discoveries have rocked the scientific world. Until recently plant breeders used trial-and-error methods to create newer, more beautiful, and more useful hybrids. Now Dr. Martienssen and his colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory are unlocking the molecular mechanisms at the heart of plant evolution. They hope to use their new knowledge to unravel the stories behind some of the world’s most successful breeds and to create the future’s most awesome new cultivars.

Dr. Martienssen asks:

--Can we breed better biofuels? Could duckweed—a plant growing in NYC’s ponds and parklands— be supercharged to become an efficient source of energy?

--What’s the story behind King Corn? How exactly was maize—the most widely grown crop in the U.S.—created in Ancient Mesoamerica from a native grass that looks almost nothing like corn?

--What does biotechnology have to do with food security and climate change? Could the sequencing of plant genomes and a fundamental understanding of “jumping genes” lead to the production of higher-yielding crops that consume fewer resources?

Before & After

--Groove to tunes inspired by pistils and stamens

--Try our cocktail of the night, the Planter’s Punch (pow!)

--Stick around for the cultivated Q&A

This edition of the Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, August 24 at 8 p.m. @ the Bell House, 149 7^th St. (between 2^nd and 3^rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9^th St.

No cover. Just bring your smart self!

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+