Day: May 29, 2023

When our group visited the wonderful Tse-xin Tamsui Farm near Taipei, one of the activities we did was dye a cotton cloth with the yellow spice/root turmeric. The active ingredient in turmeric is called curcumin and it has a really interesting chemistry. First of all, it’s used in many places as a spice and then it’s used as a natural food or cloth dye (the way we used it). It is extremely non-toxic and there are scientific studies that show you can eat about 10 grams/day! (that’s a lot – about 3 tablespoons) without any harmful effects. As a cloth dye, it is unstable in the sunlight so it fades (and that has to do with its chemistry). As a food dye, it is completely natural so it is not a “chemically” produced food dye (that is a good thing). It’s approved for food use by many state regulatory agencies like the US-FDA and the European Union. But, for me, one of its most interesting aspects is that it has demonstrated to be extremely beneficial in terms of health. At Vassar, we’ve synthesized some complexes using curcumin that have shown to be active against certain tumors and so that is a really promising area of research. Its molecular structure is responsible for why it’s such an interesting molecule with many applications.

5/29/23

A fabulous timeline of events was already provided by author Jay Chung, so I will just share some observations from the day. Some impressive facts about the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology were that it had the biggest campus in Taiwan, and ranked 1st in the country as the greenest campus. It would be interesting to learn what criteria determine that ranking. In the morning lecture, Ms. Faith Lee mentioned a large issue facing Taiwanese farmers (especially in the southern and coastal areas) is the overconsumption of groundwater. When too much groundwater is extracted it causes seawater to creep inland underground, infiltrating the water supply which can have disastrous consequences for plants. Jumping ahead to the Microbial Agent Research and Development Center, it was interesting to learn about the bacteria Bacillus amyloliquefaciens PMB05. Its ability to strengthen plants’ resistance to diseases might be a solution that can extend beyond Taiwan. During the smart farming presentation, Mr. Ricky Ke talked about a bachelor program in agriculture and science that allowed farmers to receive free education for four years on the condition that they would then farm for four years afterward. I think that is a great way to promote more sustainable agriculture and wonder if similar programs exist/could be adopted in the US. Something I didn’t quite understand was why smart farming on campus couldn’t incorporate organic spraying and biodegradable plastic methods. That way, for example, spraying could be targeted (less) and also not as harmful. 

Some fun facts of the day:

I’m pretty sure I hypnotized two angel fish.

At the urbarium, I saw the biggest bean pod of my life!

I really enjoyed watching the chicken preen and settle down to nap as we learned about the university’s partnership with tribal communities to produce natural goods.

Alysa discovered a plant growing in the grass that closed its feathery leaves every time it was poked.

Ian tricked me into eating pig stomach.

At one point in the day, it felt like 102 degrees!

5/29/2023

The number one rule in writing for academia is to utilize big words in an attempt to sound impressive. As this is an academic post, I will strictly be following this protocol to tell you a recount in the most academically recognizable way.

Today, we did something pretty cool. We went on a radical adventure through the seas of Pingtung University to collect the farming infinity stones in our conquest to fulfill the legendary prophecy that has been passed down through the generations. I, the sage of poetry and storytelling, shall tell you the mighty tale of the crew that saved our universe. Consanguineous.

The tale begins with a small group starting their adventure by fueling up with, quite literally, two small slices of bread and water for breakfast. However, our tale continues to the College of Agriculture, where after a few brief presentations about the University, we hopped into our Ferraris and went to the Microbial Agent Research and Development Center. Here we learned about the cool bacterial stuff they were doing and obtained the legendary bacterial soap for heroes. Apparently, rumor has it that it can heal all injuries. Tergiversation.

My mother has always told me that champions needed to eat, so we all popped back to the college to eat and then headed out to the Department of Aquaculture. Here we got a tour of the factory and got to see the cool frog and fish cultures they had going over there. Here our band of heroes had the first challenge and depicted below is the Legend of Yu Zhou in the Battle for freedom against the demon frog. In the end, despite a long and hard battle, our heroes were victorious and the demon was slain. Impedimenta.

The crew then hopped back into our Rolls Royces and drove on over to the Department of Forestry to check out the large storage facility that they had. Lots of angiosperms, and it was cool to see the entire storage facility. They did not have a failsafe in case of a fire so please keep Cael away from the facility at all costs. Our heroes then ventured into the forest of death to find out more about bees and the research projects that were being conducted there. I, for one, nearly died due to the large swarms of enemy mosquitos. I guess I am one with nature, one with the trees, and one with the ants. Myrmecophilous.

Finally, we explored the Energy Green House as our final showdown with the demon king. Enemy’s were everywhere, and hoards of plant type monsters attacked us. A particularly interesting type of enemy was a hybrid pepper monster that was immune to our red light powers on one side. I was “shocked” to see everything but in the end, we were successful and made it back to the comfort and safety of our homeland. Xenotransplantation.

As our journey comes to an end, I would like to show you a picture of a Rolex that Professor Mike from Pingtung (My boy) was wearing. Just because it’s hella sick. Pulchritudinous.

Today, the demon king lays slain. But one day he will rise again to conduct his revenge. For the time being however, the land shall know enteral peace and happiness.

-Fin-

-Jay Chung