Tag Archive for 'Rice'

Rice phytoliths from excavations at Ritidian Beach Cave, Guam. Scale bars - 10 μm. Image credit: Carson et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adw3591.

Archaeologists Find 3,500-Year-Old Traces of Rice in Guam

Jun 25, 2025 by News Staff

Rice was a staple crop in the ancestral Austronesian regions of Taiwan and Island Southeast Asia, but it was unknown in any of the Pacific Islands at the...

The site locations and artifacts of the Shangshan culture: (A) locations of the Shangshan, Qiaotou, and Xiaohuangshan sites (dots) and the distribution area of the Shangshan culture (red circle); (B) selected pottery sherds analyzed: 1 - cup sherd; 2 - jar sherd; 3 - jar sherd; 4 - rim sherd from sand-tempered cooking pot; 5 - large basin sherd; 6 - base of the ring foot bowl; (C) corresponding complete vessels: 1 - globular jar; 2 - ring foot bowl; 3 - cup; 4 - flat-based jar; 5 - large basin. Image credit: Liu et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2412274121.

Traces of 10,000-Year-Old Rice Beer Found in China

Dec 10, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Shangshan culture in ancient China’s Lower Yangzi region is central to understanding the origins of rice domestication and early alcohol fermentation....

Gann et al. show that in principle it is possible to grow rice plants in MMS1 but levels of (Mg(ClO4)2) can be critical to both germination and growth; moreover, they presented that editing SnRK1a could potentially provide an approach to develop as table rice line that can germinate and grow in MMS1 with (Mg(ClO4)2). Image credit: Gann et al.

Genetically Modified Rice Could Actually Grow in Martian Regolith, New Study Suggests

Apr 27, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

One of the biggest challenges to growing food on Mars is the presence of perchlorate salts, which have been detected in the Martian regolith (soil) and...

Botanical remains from the Khalchayan site, Uzbekistan: (1-2) Oryza sativa; (3) Hordeum vulgare; (4) Triticum aestvum; (5) Pisum sativum; (6) Lens culinaris; (7-8) Linum usitatissimum; (9) Lithospermum arvense; (10-12) Setaria italica; (13-15) Chenopodium sp.; (16-18) Polygonum sp.; (19-20) Galium aparine; (21-22) Alhagi sparsifolia. Image credit: Chen et al, doi: 10.1007/s11430-019-9585-2.

Archaeologists Find 1,750-Year-Old Cultivated Rice Grains in Uzbekistan

May 25, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

A team of archeologists from China, Uzbekistan, and Germany has found evidence that japonica-like rice was an important food in Central Asia as early as...

Researchers Sequence Genomes of Two Basmati Rice Varieties

Feb 10, 2020 by News Staff

A research team led by New York University scientists has sequenced and analyzed the genomes of two members of the basmati rice group: a variety of basmati...

Lentils significantly reduce blood glucose. Image credit: Maxmann.

Replacing Potatoes or Rice with Lentils Lowers Blood Glucose

Jun 19, 2018 by News Staff

A new study from the University of Guelph shows that replacing half of the available carbohydrates from potatoes or rice with cooked lentils can lower...

Barley (Hordeum vulgare). Image credit: Cliff.

Cereal Domestication May Have Started 10,000 Years Earlier than Scientists Thought

Oct 24, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, ancient peoples began to systemically affect the evolution...

A flood-prone rice field being plowed by a farmer using water buffaloes. Image credit: International Rice Research Institute / CC BY 2.0.

Indus Civilization Farmers Cultivated Rice Over 4,000 Years Ago, Archaeological Evidence Suggests

Nov 27, 2016 by News Staff

New research on three archaeological sites of the famed Indus Valley civilization (3000-1500 BC) in north-west India has revealed that domesticated rice...

Left: phytoliths from Poaceae bulliform cells and bi-peaked tubercles from rice husks recovered from Huxi: 1, 2, 3 - rice; 4 - reed; 5 - bamboo; 6, 7, 8 - silvergrass; 9, 10 - bi-peaked tubercles of rice. Right: charred plant remains from Huxi: 1 - self-heal; 2 - cupgrass; 3, 17 - sedge family; 4-6 - carbonized rice; 7-13 - rice rachillae; 14-15 - rice husks fragments; 16 - knotweed/smartweed; 18 - bristlegrass; 19 – crabgrass; 20 - tall fringe-rush; 21, 22 – foxnut. Image credit: Y. Zheng et al.

Archaeologists Find Evidence of Domesticated Rice in China 9,000 Years Ago

Jun 23, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

The earliest evidence of domesticated rice (Oryza sativa), one of the world’s most important cereal grains, has been found in China, and it’s 9,000...

An Austronesian village showing several traditional houses, 1893. Image credit: Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ancient Crops Help Solve Puzzle of Madagascar’s Southeast Asian Settlement

Jun 1, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides the first archaeological evidence for an early Southeast Asian presence...

Black rice in Haikou, Hainan, China. Image credit: Anna Frodesiak.

Genetic Researchers Solve Mystery of Black Rice

Sep 28, 2015 by News Staff

A genome-wide analysis of 21 black rice varieties as well as red- and white-grained landraces demonstrated that black rice arose in a rice subspecies called...