Ancient

Document shows partial felling last year, which led to legal action against Toby Carvery, was done by Ground ControlA mystery contractor who chainsawed an ancient oak in north London for the Toby Carvery restaurant chain has been identified by the Guardian, prompting more questions about the incident.The unauthorised partial felling of the 500-year-old oak a year ago on Friday in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, prompted widespread public outrage and questions in parliament. Continue reading...

Body is latest in series to be found in Dijon. Scientists trying to work out why Gauls buried some of their dead in this wayChildren at a primary school in eastern France found a strange attraction next to their playground this week: a skeleton sitting upright, peeking out the top of a circular pit.It is the latest in a series of bodies discovered in the city of Dijon that were buried in a seated position facing west. Continue reading...

Researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and global collaborators identified over 2.3 million conserved non-coding sequences (CNSs) across 314 plant genomes from 284 species, using a new computational tool called Conservatory. These ancient 'DNA switches' originated before flowering plants diverged from non-flowering ancestors more than 400 million years ago, with some confirmed essential for developmental functions through genetic editing. The discovery provides a comprehensive atlas for plant biology, aiding crop breeders in addressing drought and food shortages by fine-tuning traits. CSHL's Zachary Lippman described it as 'a new window into the evolution of life across eons.'