Word: european
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...only place to see an aurochs in nature these days? A cave painting. The enormous wild cattle that once roamed the European plains have been extinct since 1627, when the last survivor died in a Polish nature reserve. But this could soon change thanks to the work of European preservationists who are hoping they can make the great beast walk again. If they succeed - through a combination of modern genetic expertise and old-fashioned breeding - it would be the first time an animal has been brought back from extinction and released into the wild...
...tame descendants, domesticated cattle. Here's how the process is expected to work: Scientists will first scour old aurochs bone and teeth fragments from museums in order to glean enough genetic material to be able to recreate its DNA. Researchers will then compare the DNA to that of modern European cattle to determine which breeds still carry the creature's genes and create a selective-breeding program to reverse thousands of years of evolution. If everything goes as planned, each passing generation will more closely resemble the ancient aurochs. "Everything will be put together in a genetic mosaic," says Donato...
Stichting Taurus, the Dutch preservationist group leading the project, is hoping a reborn aurochs could help restore the European countryside to a more natural state. To that end, the group would eventually like to replace the domesticated cattle that currently graze in Holland's nature reserves with the recreated wild cattle. "The aurochs was part of an ecosystem," says Henri Kerkdijk, manager of the project. "If you want to recreate the flora of the ecosystem, you also have to recreate the fauna." The idea came to Kerkdijk during a trip to Africa, where he was struck by the abundance...
...single currency. Frugal Germany, the E.U.'s traditional paymaster, was understandably reluctant to commit to underwrite any rescue pledge before securing a cast-iron commitment from Athens that it would put its finances in order. Earlier in the day, Otmar Issing, the German former chief economist of the European Central Bank, said the Greeks enjoyed "one of the most luxurious pensions systems in the world" and that it was unreasonable to expect German taxpayers to fund it. Merkel's message of support included a hint of steel. Greece "will not be left on its own, but there are rules...
Nonetheless, it was unthinkable that the E.U. would sit idly by and watch Greek finances crumble a mere 11 years after the euro's birth. European leaders are keenly aware that the crisis is not restricted to Greece. If the nation were allowed to default on its debts, the bug could spread to other highly indebted euro-zone economies, like those of Spain and Portugal. At that point, economists have said, the euro itself could be endangered. But the E.U. sent a message on Thursday that it was not about to let that happen. Now it's banking...