Do you have a favorite team?

That's when UC Davis will celebrate the "bio" (life) in both biodiversity and biochemistry with special events open to the public.

Biodiversity? Three presentations sponsored by the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Month are slated for 11 a.m. (ants), 12:15 (bees), and 1 p.m. (plants).

The particulars:

• Professor Phil Ward of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will present a program on ants from 11 a.m. to noon.
• Christine Casey, manager of the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, will talk about bees from 12:15 to 12:45. 
• Ernest Sandoval, collections manager of the Botanical Conservatory, will discuss the conservatory's program in Spanish

To obtain the biodiversity Zoom links, access this page. 

The 10th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Month program is all virtual this year via live talks and demonstrations, and pre-recorded talks and activities. It's being celebrated throughout the month of February. The science-based event traditionally occurs on only one day--the Saturday of Presidents' Weekend, when families and friends gather on campus to learn first-hand about the UC Davis museums and collections. The 2020 event drew more than 4000 to the campus. To donate to the UC Davis Diversity Museum program in its crowdfunding efforts to continue offering free programs, click here by or before Feb. 28.

Biochemistry? Sixty UC Davis undergraduate students, divided into 12 teams, will compete in the first-ever Eric Conn Biochemistry Quizzes at 4 p.m., in a Zoom event memorializing the legendary UC Davis plant biochemist. The public can register to view the event by logging in at https://tinyurl.com/y33eyc4v.  See more information about the event here.

• Twelve teams, five on each team, will answer quizzes while organizer/coordinator Walter Leal, UC Davis distinguished professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, will post videos and live messages dealing with the life of Conn; best student-loved places on campus; and public messages on COVID-19 and diabetes
• The first eight teams to register: Green Team, Amigo Acids, Proline Pros, Drop the Base, Krebs Cyclists, Gibbs Team, Attack on Titration, and Ironic Bonds. 
• Due to overwhelming response, four other teams were added (A, B, C and D) and will play "off tube" or off camera, Leal said. "But they will play simultaneously with the other teams."
• Each team will be given three questions and will have one minute to confer.
• The spectators are encouraged to cheer for their favorite team.

The event promises to be both "fun and educational," Leal wrote in his Twitter account, @wsleal2014.

That prompted this response from UC Davis Professor Jonathan Eisen who directs the UC Davis Microbiome Special Research Program and holds joint faculty appointments with the Department of Evolution and Ecology, College of Biological Sciences; Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, UC Davis School of Medicine and Immunology; and the UC Davis Genome Center:

"And who ever said Biochemistry Quizzes weren't fun. Silly people. They are fun."

(Editor's Note, Feb. 21: The Eric Conn Biochemistry Quizzes may now be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Y9T9ayRXyYE)