I am shamefully behind on the reading material in the loo. So many things creep in, insisting on precedence – gardening catalogues, glowing with promise, are generally on top during the winter; English Heritage or similar, siren calls to a day’s adventure, during the summer. At some point, holiday brochures pile up, blue-and-white photos of places promising warmth, sea, and history jostling with usually rustic interiors offering courses in jewellery making or writing.
At the base of it all, though, percolating through as the truest inhabitants of the small bookcase, are the New Scientists. I bring you this article from a timewarp; a whole year ago, to be precise! The article’s entitled “Everything’s coming up roses with scent gene”, and is discussing the breeding programmes attempting to give today’s gorgeous roses the scent of the old-fashioned ones.
The part that made me smile – and has kept me smiling all day – is the discovery that it’s a single gene expression that does the job; a beast called RhNUDX1 – “known in other organisms to produce an enzyme that helps cells handle stress”.
So get out there and smell the roses whilst you may – it WILL reduce your stress levels 🙂
Eclectic pleasures 