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Tree from 2,000-year-old seed is doing well

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Thu Jun 12, 3:42 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Just over three years old and about four-feet tall, Methuselah is growing well. "It's lovely," Dr. Sarah Sallon said of the date palm, whose parents may have provided food for the besieged Jews at Masada some 2,000 years ago.

The little tree was sprouted in 2005 from a seed recovered from Masada, where rebelling Jews committed suicide rather than surrender to Roman attackers.

Radiocarbon dating of seed fragments clinging to its root, as well as other seeds found with it that didn't sprout, indicate they were about 2,000 years old — the oldest seed known to have been sprouted and grown.

Sallon, director of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah Medical Organization in Israel, updates the saga of Methuselah in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

One thing they don't know yet is whether it's a boy or girl. Date palms differ by sex, but experts can't tell the difference until the tree is six or seven years old, Sallon said.

She hopes there's a chance to use it to restore the extinct Judean date palm, once prized not only for its fruit but also for medicinal uses.

The researchers have had a look at the plant's DNA, however, and found it shares just over half its genes with modern date cultivars.

"Part of our project is to preserve ancient knowledge of how plants were used," Sallon said in a telephone interview. "To domesticate them so we have a ready source of raw material."

Her Middle Eastern Medicinal Plant Project is working to conserve and reintroduce plants to the region where they once lived.

"Many species are endangered and becoming extinct. Raising the dead is very difficult, so it's better to preserve them before they become extinct," she said.

The oldest documented seed to be grown previously was a 1,300-year-old lotus, Sallon said.

Tree from 2,000-year-old seed is doing well (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080612/ap_on_sc/sci_ancient_tree;_ylt=AmED5Ce4FmEWdVjab6B_glRI2ocA)

An update on this tree

"Methuselah"
Palm Grown From 2,000-Year-Old Seed Is a FatherTen years after sprouting from an ancient seed, the date palm is "a big boy now," a scientist says—"and yeah, he can make dates."

A male date palm tree named Methuselah that sprouted from a 2,000-year-old seed nearly a decade ago is thriving today, according to the Israeli researcher who is cultivating the historic plant.

The plant was sprouted in a laboratory in 2005, and when a National Geographic news story about the event resurfaced this week on the social media website Reddit, we decided to check in on Methuselah and see how it's doing.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150324-ancient-methuselah-date-palm-sprout-science/

Fascinating - thanks for posting.

Thanks for posting this, brother.

The Judean date palm has been extinct for approximately 1800 years. They have since managed to get two female Judean date seeds to germinate and think they will be able to bring this species of dates back from extinction as the females mature enough to produce. In addition to the religious symbolic and heritage significance it holds for Judeans it is also of great scientific importance. Some take it as a sign of the return of the land to God's people. This species of date palms was said to hold the ability to cure heart disease, weakened memory, depression and symptoms that are thought to have been that of cancer.

Brothers through God, anything is possible, as y'all know. If it can help cure disease's it will come because Jesus allowed it to happen. However knowing man they will take all the credit for the cures and still deny the Lord.

Your friend and brother in Christ
Bob

God's creation is amazing. It still holds many mysteries that we are still learning about. All of the Glory goes to God.

AMEN!!!!!!!

And that is the whole truth and nothing but the truth brother!!  ;D

Israelites have been making great strides in the medical field for many years. There is no doubt that God's hand has been in all of that and will continue to be. It is more indications that He is still with them even if they don't realize it.

Your right as normal brother, but then God has always watched over His chosen people. Even when He punishes His chosen people, He still has His hand\eye on them.