June 1, 2007 — Archaeologists digging in western Japan have excavated what they believe to be the oldest remains of a melon ever found. Based on a radiocarbon analysis, researchers estimate the half-rounded piece of fruit to be about 2,100 years old, said Shuji Yamazaki, a local official in the city of Moriyama.
The remains are believed to be the oldest of a melon that still has flesh on the rind, Yamazaki said. Previously, the oldest such find was believed to be remains found in China that date back to the fourth century A.D., according to local media reports.
The melon might have been so well-preserved because it was in a vacuum-packed state in a wet layer below the ground, an environment hostile to microorganisms that might otherwise have broken down the remains, Yamazaki said.
Dessert, anyone?
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BULLETIN: REALLY OLD MUSHROOM FOUND
June 6, 2007 — A mushroom found embedded in a 100-million-year-old piece of amber is about 20 million years older than other known mushroom fossils, an Oregon scientist says. The ancient mushroom is especially interesting because it contains two parasites, one feeding on the mushroom and the other feeding on its fellow parasite.
"I was amazed enough with the mushroom," said George Poinar, a retired entomology professor in Corvallis. "But then seeing the parasites was astonishing. No one has ever seen this three-tier association before."
The mushroom was spotted about a year ago in Burma by Ron Buckley, a photographer and collector of amber fossils from Florence, Ky.
June 6, 2007 — A mushroom found embedded in a 100-million-year-old piece of amber is about 20 million years older than other known mushroom fossils, an Oregon scientist says. The ancient mushroom is especially interesting because it contains two parasites, one feeding on the mushroom and the other feeding on its fellow parasite.
"I was amazed enough with the mushroom," said George Poinar, a retired entomology professor in Corvallis. "But then seeing the parasites was astonishing. No one has ever seen this three-tier association before."
The mushroom was spotted about a year ago in Burma by Ron Buckley, a photographer and collector of amber fossils from Florence, Ky.