Studying maize evolution may help improve crop yieldsOctober 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research on the evolution of maize may help improve crop yields in the future. As one of the most important crops worldwide and as a crop that appears very different from its wild relatives as a result of domestication, understanding exactly how maize has evolved has many practical benefits and may help to improve crop yields.
The earliest known human-produced fibers found, may have been used for clothing, rope, basketSeptember 10th, 2009 The first tailors? Researchers find ancient fiberWASHINGTON — More than 30,000 years ago someone living in a cave in the Caucasus Mountains twisted wild flax together and dyed it, producing the earliest known fibers made by humans, scientists report. "Making strings and ropes is a sophisticated invention," said Ofer Bar-Yosef, a professor of prehistoric archaeology at Harvard University.
Unique acacia tree could nourish soils in AfricaAugust 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have said that a type of acacia tree with an unusual growth habit, which is unlike virtually all other trees, holds particular promise for farmers in Africa as a free source of nitrogen for their soils that could last generations. With its nitrogen-fixing qualities, the tall, long-lived acacia tree, Faidherbia albida could limit the use of fertilizers; provide fodder for livestock, wood for construction and fuel wood, and medicine through its bark, as well as windbreaks and erosion control to farmers across sub-Saharan Africa.
President Obama to meet with leaders of Mexico and Canada in Guadalajara, MexicoAugust 9th, 2009 Obama to attend 3-nation summit in MexicoWASHINGTON —President Barack Obama will fly to Mexico for a two-day summit with the leaders of Mexico and Canada. The three men are expected to work on trade, immigration, drug trafficking and security issues, as well as clean energy.
500-year-old maize Goddess sculpture restoredAugust 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Experts have restored a 500-year-old Chicomecoatl monolith, found recently in Zempoala municipality, Hidalgo, which represents the goddess of maize. According to a report in Art Daily, the sculpture was restored by National Institute of Anthropology and History specialists.
Maize agriculture may have fueled ancient Andean civilizationJuly 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, a skeleton found at a roughly 1,000-year-old site in Peru's Andes mountains has yielded chemical evidence of substantial maize consumption, which suggests that the farming of the crop led to the rise of the ancient Andean civilization. Prehistoric communities in one part of Peru's Andes Mountains may have gone from maize to amazingly complex.
Excavation at 3000 yr old Vietnam site reveals ancient child deathsJuly 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - An archaeological excavation in southern Vietnam of a site more than 3000 years old has shed new light on how the death of young children was viewed by community members and uncovered the oldest clear evidence of rice agriculture in the region. The excavation, led by Professor Peter Bellwood and Dr Marc Oxenham from the ANU (Australian National University) School of Archaeology and Anthropology, studied a site 3-4000 years old named An Son.
Excavation throws up earliest evidence of rice cultivationJuly 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Excavation of an ancient Vietnamese site has thrown up the earliest evidence of rice cultivation, while shedding new light on how the death of young children was viewed by community members. The excavation, led by professor Peter Bellwood and Marc Oxenham from the Australian National University (ANU) School of Archaeology and Anthropology, studied the site, some 3,000-4,000 years old, named An Son.
Ancient granaries preceded Agricultural RevolutionJune 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that it apparently took a long time to get the Agricultural Revolution off the ground, with discoveries at a Jordan site indicating that ancient granaries, more than 11,000 years old, preceded the advent of modern agriculture. Excavations at Dhra' near the Dead Sea in Jordan have uncovered remnants of four sophisticated granaries built between 11,300 and 11,175 years ago, about a millennium before domesticated plants were known to have been cultivated there.
Host species' extinction could make parasites jump onto alternative hostsJune 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists have determined that when host species go extinct, their parasites could switch onto alternative hosts which in turn could increase the rate of emerging pathogens for humans, domesticated animals and plants. The study was carried out by North Carolina State University biologist Rob Dunn and colleagues.
New evidence suggests meteorite did not wipe out dinosMay 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A geoscientist and her research team from Princeton University have compiled new evidence disproving a popular theory that an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. Gerta Keller, the scientist in question, whose studies of rock formations at many sites in the United States, Mexico and India have led her to conclude that volcanoes, not a vast meteorite, were the more likely culprits in the demise of the Earth's giant reptiles, is producing new data supporting her claim.
Montag, Pratt praying for health after pre-honeymoon in flu-hit MexicoMay 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Newlyweds Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are back in Los Angeles after being forced to abandon their pre-honeymoon in Mexico over swine flu fears. Montag - who wore a mask while in Mexico to fight off the swine flu - wrote on her Twitter page that they are now praying for their health, reports People magazine.
Obama health fine after trip to Mexico, which is struggling with swine flu outbreakApril 25th, 2009 Obama health fine after trip to MexicoWASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama's health is fine a little more than a week after he traveled to Mexico, where an outbreak of swine flu has killed at least 68 people and sickened more than 1,000. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Saturday that "the Presidents trip to Mexico has not put his health in any danger."
The top international health official says the new swine flu strain that has hit Mexico has "pandemic potential." Obama was in Mexico last week to meet with top government officials and talk about the growing problem with drug smuggling and border violence.
Evidence of early agriculture found in dog and pig bones from ChinaMarch 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers have gathered evidence of early human experiments with agriculture in dog and pig bones, as well as bones of other animals, from an archaeological site in a region of northwest China. The bones come from a Neolithic site known as Dadiwan, in China's western Loess Plateau, excavated first by a Chinese team in the late 70s and early 80s, and in 2006 by a team from the University of California, Davis, and Lanzhou University in China.
History extracted from teeth of Christopher Columbus' crewMarch 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Dead men do tell tales. Researchers are now extracting history from the teeth of crew members Christopher Columbus left on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola after his second voyage to America in 1493-94.
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