Word: fungi
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...easy one. Like any complex organic molecule, DNA degrades over time, and bones that lie in the ground for thousands of years become badly contaminated with the DNA of bacteria and fungi. Anyone who handles the fossils can also leave human DNA behind. After probing the remains of about 60 different Neanderthals out of the 400 or so known, Pääbo and his team found only two with viable material. Moreover, he estimates, only about 6% of the genetic material his team extracts from the bones turns out to be Neanderthal...
...clinical trials [show] evidence that either the fruit or its juice is an effective treatment for arthritis, cancer or any other disorder in humans," writes Dr. Brent Bauer, the Mayo Clinic's alternative-medicine specialist. Mangosteens contain antioxidants called xanthones that have been shown to stop certain bacteria and fungi in lab tests. Yet independent-distributor sites claim the juice helps everything from Alzheimer's disease to kidney stones. XanGo's Morton concedes that wild claims are being made. "With 600,000 distributors, some stuff gets past our compliance [measures]," he says. "Overpromising and underdelivering is a problem...
...tetrapods. The plants created new aquatic habitats by stabilizing the banks of rivers and streams. They pumped oxygen into the atmosphere, making the earth habitable for large, air-breathing creatures. And they shed organic debris that formed the basis of a new food chain. Bacteria, fungi and small arthropods (the animal group that includes crustaceans and insects) moved in to feed on the debris; small fish moved in to eat the arthropods; bigger fish moved in to eat the small fish. Among them were the fishapod's lobe-finned ancestors, which found in the vegetation-clogged shallows abundant food...
France is counting on modern science to catch the impostors. The National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) has developed a type of DNA analysis to distinguish French fungi from Chinese without a taste test. Although French regulations call for a truffle's origins to be clearly marked, truffle experts say many vendors either ignore the rules or engage in outright mislabeling. France's fraud-control directorate carries out random DNA testing to flush out faux-truffle dealers. Anyone caught intending to deceive the consumer with a Chinese truffle may be fined $1,300. Still, there are few inspectors and many...
...worry the truffle old school. "We saw in experiments that Tuber indicum is very dominant, competitive and aggressive," frets Gerard Chevalier, a researcher at INRA. He paints a scenario in which errant spores from imported Chinese truffles disperse into the air, contaminate the European countryside and beat the fungi out of their more fragile cousins. Already the ancient truffle terroir is being hammered by pesticides and urbanization. Two centuries ago, French black truffles were so abundant that they were cheaper than tomatoes; since then, the average annual truffle harvest in the Périgord region and beyond has declined, from some...