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A human skull, buried about 2500 years ago in a Bronze Age cemetery at Jinggouzi, a site of an important ethnic group in ancient China, appeared to have characteristics of fibrous dysplasia. The CT images indicated a reduction in bone density and relatively homogeneous lesions. More features were revealed using CT reconstruction techniques. Lesions seen in low‐magnification images using a 3D deep‐field microscope had an irregular honeycomb‐like structure. At higher magnification, the trabeculae morphology and the gaps between the trabeculae were irregular and varied in size and shape. Paraffin‐embedded specimens stained with HE showed trabeculae with tortuous irregular arrangements varying in shape and width. The irregular trabeculae of woven bone has been described as having fibrous dysplasia. Molecular analysis of the GNAS gene indicated no mutation. This provides a non‐invasive approach for us to make more comprehensive diagnoses and to assist research into ancient human diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the release of a new, largefruited kiwifruit cultivar, 'White', selected from Actinidia eriantha. Fruit of 'White' had a mean fruit weight of 94 g, and a maximum fruit weight of 132 g at harvest in Zhejiang, China. The mean fruit weight is c. 2-4 times that of wild A. eriantha fruit found in Zhejiang and nearly 4 times that of 'Bidan', the only other registered A. eriantha cultivar. The fruit are oblong and the peelable skin is covered with dense white hair. The flesh of ripe fruit is green and has good eating quality but little juice. The soluble solids concentration was 14.7%, total sugar 9%, total acid 1.24%, and vitamin C 628.37 mg/100 g fresh weight. Its harvest season is during the last 10 days of October in the south of Zhejiang province, which is c. 2 weeks later than A. deliciosa 'Bruno' in the same area. It is sometimes referred to as the "banana kiwifruit" because the skin is easy to peel. This new cultivar has been registered in China (PVR No. CNA20050673.0). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tooth wear and dental pathology related to diet and lifestyle were investigated in the human dental remains unearthed from three archaeological sites of Bronze Age and Iron Age in Xinjiang of northwest China, and in comparative samples from two Neolithic sites in Henan and Shanxi in central China along the Yellow River. Our results indicate that the average tooth wear on most tooth types in the three Xinjiang sites was close to those of the Neolithic samples from central China. The variation within the Xinjiang samples was also explored. Some special wear patterns such as severe wear on the first molar and relatively heavy wear of anterior teeth were observed on the specimens from the Xinjiang sites. Obvious differences in caries and antemortem tooth loss were found between Xinjiang and comparative samples with higher frequencies of caries observed in samples from central China and higher antemortem tooth loss in samples from the Xinjiang sites. Strongly developed exostoses (tori) were also identified on mandibles and maxillae of the specimens from Xinjiang. The authors believe that the differences in tooth wear and dental pathology between Xinjiang and central China were caused by differences in diet and lifestyle. Food of a harder texture was consumed by the people who lived in Xinjiang than by the people in Henan and Shanxi of central China. The higher occurrence of heavily worn anterior teeth and some other special wear patterns, antemortem tooth loss and presence of exostoses on jaw bones in Xinjiang suggest that the people in Xinjiang lived in a relatively harsh environment, frequently gnawing hard objects, or using teeth as some kind of tools. All these activities put masticatory organs under a heavy load. The differences in caries frequencies between the frontier and central areas of China indicate that food richer in carbohydrates was consumed by the people in the central areas. It is proposed that about 3000-2000 years BP in many areas of frontier Xinjiang, people mainly relied on the type of hunter-gatherer economy with agriculture playing a smaller role in their lifestyle., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Various studies on ancient DNA have attempted to reconstruct population movement in Asia, with much interest focused on determining the arrival of European lineages in ancient East Asia. Here, we discuss our analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of human remains excavated from the Yu Hong tomb in Taiyuan, China, dated 1400 years ago. The burial style of this tomb is characteristic of Central Asia at that time. Our analysis shows that Yu Hong belonged to the haplogroup U5, one of the oldest western Eurasian-specific haplogroups, while his wife can be classified as haplogroup G, the type prevalent in East Asia. Our findings show that this man with European lineage arrived in Taiyuan approximately 1400 years ago, and most probably married a local woman. Haplogroup U5 was the first west Eurasian-specific lineage to be found in the central part of ancient China, and Taiyuan may be the easternmost location of the discovered remains of European lineage in ancient China.