U of M research is fighting the pit-falls of peach production
University or Memphis professor Shawn Brown (left) and graduate student Kimberly Baldwin (right) are trying find new ways to protect the production of peaches. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Hanging in Shawn Brown’s office at the University of Memphis is a poster of Alfred Hitchcock yawning as he reads a book called “The World of Birds.”
As an associate professor and environmental microbiologist, he thought it would be funny because the office’s previous occupant was an ornithologist.
And birds, Brown said playfully, “are just not as interesting as microbes.”
It’s a bold claim. You can’t even see microbes — bacteria, fungi and other tiny organisms — without a microscope. Birds, meanwhile, are often bright, beautiful, visible and full of personality.
But he isn’t afraid to make his case.
“Microbes and fungi are a lot more interesting because they do so much for the world,” he said. “They’re little biochemical machines that transform nutrients and recycle it, cause disease, and cause crops to grow better. Without microbes, the world would not exist as we think about it. Life would not exist as we think about it. They are crucial for the evolution of life.”
Because of his passion for microbes, he’s dedicated his career to them, and they’re at the center of his latest research project, which could have major implications for something that you don’t need a microscope to see:
Peaches.
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John Klyce
John Klyce is an enterprise reporter with The Daily Memphian who writes a wide range of in-depth features, as well as profiles about local leaders, scientists, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and anyone else doing exciting and important work in this city. He previously spent four years with the Memphis Business Journal, where he covered public companies, startups, and innovation, and a fifth year with The Commercial Appeal, where he covered education, and chronicled how gun violence and poverty were affecting Memphis youth and their families. He has also been a fellow with the Institute for Citizens and Scholars. John has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Memphis and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Boston University.
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