On to new horizons: the Himalayan foothills

In an exciting and unexpected development, ARSI President for Life Obie MacAroon sent the following dispatch from Santiago, Chile, on September 1st:

"Our search for the tropical rutabaga will now shift to the Himalayan foothills, where several promising discoveries have recently been reported by a Uzbeki botanical research team funded by a major grant from the ARSI Rutascience Foundation in Forest Grove. The tropical Terai region of Nepal will be the focus of our initial investigations. While our collection of spores from the Andes awaits further DNA analysis (photo) at ARSI's lab complex, we'll be moving our search back to the northern hemisphere."

In honor of the occasion, President MacAroon has declared:

INTERNATIONAL RUTABAGA MONTH - SEPTEMBER, 2009

As of this writing, President MacAroon and his team are en route to Kathmandu via chartered jet. Check back regularly for updates on the progress of this ambitious effort.

PHOTO: Electron microscope of the enhancer detector line of a tropical rutabaga suspect highlighting the mushroom body neurons.