Happy Darwin Day! – Four years ago, a group of US and UK scientists designated Charles Darwin’s birthday (Feb. 12) “Darwin Day” – a day to celebrate Science. Darwin Day festivities in the U.S. and U.K. promote education about science, and particularly evolution, in community churches, schools, and libraries. Happy Birthday, Mr. Darwin!

Express your love with flowers….from Africa – Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary from the U.K., suggests that buying Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) flowers from Africa instead of Holland will not only support developing economies in Africa but will also reduce carbon emissions.

On the other hand, you can keep the flowers – By the time roses hit stores, they have been heavily dosed with very toxic chemicals. Although major flower exporters, such as Columbia, are working to reduce pesticide use, up to 36 percent of the chemicals found on flowers from a particular factory were listed as extremely or highly toxic by the World Health Organization. Factory workers and their children are at particular risk.

Space potatoes – On a recent space flight, Chinese astronauts exposed seeds of various vegetables and fruits to space radiation. The result? A new purple potato that is the ‘must have’ at haute culture restaurants in Shanghai. The company that sells the potato touts its nutritional value. GS is withholding comment.

News shorts: The Arctic seed vault becomes a reality – Scientists are creating a Noah’s Ark-like reserve in the Arctic for crop plant seeds in an effort to record diversity. Novel insights into plant disease resistance; A major advance in understanding nutrient uptake in plants; Healthier wines with ozone treated grapes