So, “agricultural expansion is the principal factor for shaping global linguistic diversity,” and indeed human genetic diversity, both in Europe and Japan. Further evidence for Bellwood’s controversial thesis.
Nibbles: Beer in Sudan, Tea and pastoralism in Kenya, Iron in beans, Mediterranean diet
- Sudanese beer-drinkers in trouble. Let my people go!
- The future of tea in Kenya. Mother-in-law alerted.
- Meanwhile, Kenyan pastoralists go back to the future.
- Slideshow: “Combating hidden hunger through bio-fortification.” Beanz meanz ironz.
- May is Mediterranean Diet Month. It is? I mean, who knew?
Nibbles: Nepali wheat, Ugandan coffee, Hybrid rice, Australian peanut, Kenyan fodder grasses
- CIMMYT disseminates wheat varieties in Nepal. Not many people hurt.
- Coffee wilt disease resistant coffee varieties not being disseminated in Uganda. Many people hurt.
- Father of Hybrid Rice asked not to disseminate, er, hybrid rice. Oh I give up.
- New Australian peanut variety ready for dissemination in double-quick time.
- Alternatives to Napier grass all set for dissemination in Kenya.
Nibbles: Genebanks, PNG Forests, Peruvian potatoes, Haitian extension, Mungbeans
- The Santa Barbara Independent does genebanks. You heard me.
- Papua New Guinea suspends Special Agricultural and Business Leases. Maybe they’ll now use the land for special agriculture and business?
- Native Peruvian potato chips prized in Europe (Spanish).
- US opens new centre to train Haitian farmers. Because, y’know, they’ve done such a fine job in the past.
- Australia taps World Vegetable Center for mungbean genes.
Yes, why not, the oldest horse breed in the world
Quick, what’s the oldest horse breed still in existence? Well, apparently, it’s the Caspian or Māzandarān Horse, and remains have recently been found in a cemetery dating back to 3400 BCE. Perhaps I should find it hard to believe one can recognize a breed from a skeleton, but I choose to suspend any disbelief I may have, because I like the story.
The Caspian horse was thought to have disappeared into antiquity, until 1965 when the American wife of an Iranian aristocrat called Louise Firouz went on an expedition on horseback and discovered small horses in the Iranian mountainous regions south of the Caspian Sea.
It happens to be very genetically diverse, which may suggest survival of wild horses in a Holocene refugium. Will they try to extract ancient DNA from the skeleton? Gosh, I do hope so. Via.