Ancient Chocolate Found in Maya "Teapot"
July 17, 2002 — Analysis of residue from a ceramic "teapot" suggests that the Maya, and their ancestors, may have been gobbling chocolate as far back as 2,600 years ago, pushing back the earliest evidence of cacao use more than 1,000 years. GO>>

Firefighter-Author on Battling Colorado Blazes, Scandal
July 17, 2002 — For fire crew commander Peter M. Leschak, author of Ghosts of the Fireground, released this month, there's no better place than the line of fire. GO>>

South Africa Sardine Migration Draws Crowds
July 16, 2002 — Each year huge shoals of sardines migrate up to the waters along the coast of South Africa's KwaZulu Natal province. The shoals, which can be several miles long, are pursued by sharks, dolphins, and other predators that herd them in close to shore, where huge crowds gather to watch "The Greatest Shoal on Earth." GO>>

Archaeologists Explore Cold War Nuclear Test Site
July 15, 2002 — Bright yellow radiation suits are not standard-issue attire for archaeologists. Nor is a Geiger counter. But these precautions are sometimes required for the researchers exploring the eerie A-bomb rubble and ghost towns left over from Cold War blasts at the Nevada Test Site, formerly the Nevada Proving Grounds, on 1,375 square miles of desert 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. GO>>

"Detector Dogs" Sniff Out Smugglers for U.S. Customs
July 12, 2002 — In its never-ending war against drug smugglers, the U.S. Customs Service employs amazingly effective "detector dogs." These canine officers, recruited from pounds and animal shelters, keep billions of dollars worth of drugs off the streets. For them, the job is just a game, but smugglers often come up on the losing end. This article is the first in our series The Dog Days of Summer. GO>>

Maryland Suffers Setback in War on Invasive Walking Fish
July 12, 2002 — Maryland wildlife officials who recently found an invasive northern snakehead fish in a pond in Crofton, Maryland, have now captured eight juveniles of the species. The troubling development means the voracious air-breathing and land-crawling predator is multiplying. GO>>

Museum's Egyptian Mummy To Go Home
July 12, 2002 — A century and a half after it was looted from an Egyptian tomb, a prized mummy acquired by an Atlanta museum is a step closer to going home. Officials of the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University announced Tuesday they had agreed to return the mummy, because there was enough evidence to indicate it probably was the remains of the missing pharaoh Ramses I, founder of one of Egypt's most famous dynasties. GO>>

JFK's PT-109 Found, U.S. Navy Confirms
Updated July 11, 2002 — A National Geographic expedition led by explorer Robert Ballard has found what is believed to be the remains of John F. Kennedy's PT-109. Experts from the U.S. Navy recently confirmed the May 2002 find is most likely the World War II patrol boat. PT-109 sank in the Solomon Islands when a Japanese destroyer sliced through it, setting into motion the survival odyssey that became a cornerstone of the Kennedy legend. GO>>

Skull Fossil Opens Window Into Early Period of Human Origins
Updated July 11, 2002 — A team excavating in northern Chad has unearthed an intact skull and other fossils of what they believe was a hominid that lived six to seven million years ago. That date would make it the oldest known ancestor of humans. GO>>