from American Scientist
January-February 2012
Ancient Greek trade ships shuttled millions of amphoras—ceramic, vase-shaped storage jars—around the Mediterranean and Black seas. The containers are generally thought to have carried wine, but a new DNA analysis of nine jars, aged 2,200 to 2,400 years, suggests the freight was more diverse. Also in this issue’s news roundup: the colors of fossil beetles, brain scans of dreamers, and antisocial rodents.