Solanum jamesii, also known as the Four Corners potato, is a unique type of potato for several reasons. With its relatively small size compared to other tubers (a category of vegetable) and its ability to withstand changing weather and diseases, the Four Corners has sustained Indigenous Americans for thousands of years. Additionally, its taste is said to be better and more nutritious. With these factors, a group consisting of an ecologist, an archaeologist, a geneticist, and a nutritionist are trying to determine the possibility of domestication and breeding. Read full article here
Research
Researcher uses AI to make texts that are thousands of years old readable
The Gilgamesh Epic, the oldest work of world literature, has been brought back to life by LMU researchers in the Electronic Babylonian Literature project. Using their new Fragmentarium tool, they have discovered hundreds of manuscripts, including the most recent tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic which dates from 130 BC – thousands of years after the earliest known version. This shows how highly valued the Epic was, even at a late period. With the public release of the Fragmentarium, anyone can now explore the thousands of cuneiform fragments and explore the ancient Babylonian literature. Read full article here
Merv
March 12, 2023
