Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 23 May 2019

This picture taken on May 8, 2019, shows two newly born
Chacoan peccaries in their enclosure at the Prague zoo, Czech
Republic.
Associated Press
2 rare mammals,

Chacoan peccaries,

born in Prague zoo Prof. Aren Maeir, from Bar Ilan University, left, raises a toast with Dr Yitzchak Paz, from the Israeli
Antiquities Authority, center, and Prof. Yuval Gadot, from Tel Aviv University during a press confer-
ence in Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 22, 2019.
PRAGUE (AP) — Prague's border of Argentina, Bolivia Associated Press
zoo says two Chacoan and Paraguay.
estation and disease, the Israeli scientists brew beer
peccaries have been born Due to overhunting, defor-
there for the first time, a vi-
tal step in efforts to save an population of several thou-
prompting European zoos with revived ancient yeasts
endangered species that sand has been shrinking,
was once considered ex-
tinct. to launch a program for its
The Chacoan peccary is survival. By ILAN BEN ZION Beer was a staple of the ancient beasts fictionalized
a wild pig-like mammal So far only Berlin's Tierpark Associated Press daily diet for the people of in "Jurassic Park," but only
whose existence was de- zoo has managed to regu- JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli ancient Egypt and Meso- to a point.
scribed in 1930 based on larly breed them while one researchers raised a glass potamia. Early Egyptian "In Jurassic Park, the dino-
fossils that dated to the was born in the Planckend- Wednesday to celebrate texts refer to a variety of saurs eat the scientists," he
Pleistocene epoch. ael zoo in Belgium. a long-brewing project of different brews, including said.
In the early 1970s a small There are currently 37 making beer and mead us- "iron beer," ''friend's beer," "Here, the scientists drink
population was discovered Chacoan peccaries in sev- ing yeasts extracted from and "beer of the protector." the dinosaurs."
in an isolated area on the en European zoos.q ancient clay vessels — The yeast samples came "It opens up a whole new
Construction workers some over 5,000 years old. from nearly two dozen field of the possibility that
ceramic vessels found in perhaps other microorgan-
Archaeologists and micro-
biologists from the Israel An-
excavations around the isms survived as well, and
find dinosaur fossils tiquities Authority and four country, including a sal- you can identify foods such
Israeli universities teamed vage dig in central Tel as cheese, wine, pickles,"
in Denver suburb up to study yeast colonies Aviv, a Persian-era palace opening a portal into tast-
found in microscopic pores in southern Jerusalem and ing cultures of the past, he
in pottery fragments. The 'En Besor, a 5,000-year-old said.
shards were found at Egyp- Egyptian brewery near Is- For this initial experiment,
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. dinosaur's lower leg bone tian, Philistine and Judean rael's border with the Gaza the team paired up with a
(AP) — Construction work- and several ribs were archaeological sites in Isra- Strip. Jerusalem craft brewer to
ers have unearthed fossils found. Fossil expert Natalie el spanning from 3,000 BC Other researchers of an- make a basic modern-style
in a Denver suburb that ex- Toth told KDVR-TV the fossils to the 4th century BC. cient beers, such as Uni- ale using yeast extracted
perts say could be from a could be from a torosaurus The scientists are touting versity of Pennsylvania from the pots. The ale had
rare horned dinosaur. — a dinosaur similar to the the brews made from "res- archaeologist Patrick Mc- a thick white head, with
The Denver Museum of triceratops but differenti- urrected" yeasts as an im- Govern, have concocted a caramel color and a
Nature and Science said ated by three bones. portant step in experimen- drinks based on ancient distinctly funky nose. The
Monday that it is exploring Toth says the fossils seem tal archaeology, a field recipes and residue analy- mead, made using yeast
the construction site near to be intact, so crews are that seeks to reconstruct sis of ceramics. But the Is- extracted from a vessel
a retirement community in hoping to uncover the en- the past in order to better raeli scientists say this is the found in the ruins of a pal-
Highlands Ranch where a tire dinosaur.q understand the flavor of first time fermented drinks ace near Jerusalem that
the ancient world. have been made from re- contained honey wine
"What we discovered was vived ancient yeasts. roughly 2,400 years ago,
that yeast can actually sur- Aren Maeir, a Bar Ilan Uni- was champagne bub-
vive for a very, very long versity archaeologist, ex- bly and dry, with a hint of
time without food," said He- cavates at Tel es-Safi, the green apple.
brew University microbiolo- biblical city of Gath, where The beer incorporates
gist Michael Klutstein. "To- ancient Philistine beer modern ingredients, like
day we are able to salvage pots yielded yeasts used hops, that were not avail-
all these living organisms to brew a beer offered to able in the ancient Middle
that live inside the nano- journalists. He likened the East — but it's the revived
pores and to revive them revival of long-dormant yeast that provides much
and study their properties." yeast to the resurrection of of the flavor.q