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RALEIGH, N.C. -- A couple accused of tying their 13-year-old son to a tree for two nights to punish him for disobedience has been charged with murder in his death, authorities said Friday. Brice Brian McMillan, 41, of Macclesfield, told a deputy that the child was being disobedient and was forced to sleep outside Tuesday while tied to a tree, the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office said. The teenager was released Wednesday morning but again tied up that night for bad behavior, authorities said. The boy was left tied to the tree until the following afternoon when his stepmother found him...

Tree from 2,000-year-old seed is doing well By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID , AP Science WriterJune 12, 2008 (AP) -- 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...

Rare coconut tree on sale for $1m By John James BBC News Abidjan No buyers have come forward for the tree Scientists in Ivory Coast are trying to sell a rare multi-headed coconut tree for a million dollars. They have yet to find a buyer. Most coconut palms have a single trunk and head - this one has three heads. "It is a rare botanical curiosity", says Dr Roland Bourdeix, who works with the Marc Delorme coconut research station outside Abidjan. "We have 150,000 palm trees in this research plantation and there is only one which has three heads like...

World’s oldest, 8,000 years old tree found in Sweden April 10th, 2008 - 11:23 pm ICT RIA Novosti Stockholm, April 10 (RIA Novosti) Scientists in northern Sweden believe they have discovered the world’s oldest living tree dating back nearly 8,000 years, local media said Thursday. A Norway spruce, which was found growing at a height of 950 metres above sea level, is more than two metres (6.5 feet) tall and about 20 centimeters (8 inches) in width. Shortly after the discovery, scientists sent samples from the tree to a laboratory in Miami, US, and were amazed to learn that the...

SEATTLE -- He was kicked while he was down, but he eventually found way to build a new life. But now, David Csaky is on the brink of another fall. Two years ago Csaky found himself homeless, surrounded by dead-ends. "I was divorced, I had bad credit, I have animals with me," he said. "I have two walls against me. I can't hurdle either one."But then he found three sturdy trees under the Ship Canal Bridge in the Eastlake neighborhood and decided to build himself a tree house. While earning a very modest living by rescuing animals, Csaky kept plugging...

Scientists Reshape Y Chromosome Haplogroup Tree Gaining New Insights Into Human Ancestry ScienceDaily (Apr. 3, 2008) — The Y chromosome retains a remarkable record of human ancestry, since it is passed directly from father to son. In an article published in Genome Research scientists have utilized recently described genetic variations on the part of the Y chromosome that does not undergo recombination to significantly update and refine the Y chromosome haplogroup tree. Human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes: 22 pairs of autosomes, and one pair of sex chromosomes. Females carry a pair of X chromosomes that can swap, or...

Cats' Family Tree Rooted In Fertile Crescent, Study ConfirmsCats, with their penchant for hunting mice, rats and other rodents, became useful companions as people domesticated, grew and stored wild grains and grasses. Eventually, cats also became pets but were never fully domesticated. Even today, most domestic cats remain self-sufficient, if necessary, and continue to be efficient hunters, even when provided with food. (Credit: Michele Hogan) ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2008) — The Fertile Crescent of the Middle East has long been identified as a "cradle of civilization" for humans. In a new genetic study, researchers at the University of California, Davis,...

$50,000 REWARD IN DEATHS OF TREE FARMER, 2 OTHERSRobbery may be motive in slayings Authorities describe how shootings occurred Associated Press INDEPENDENCE, Va. --The family of a prominent North Carolina tree farmer has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for his slaying, as well as that of his son and an employee. Authorities said robbery was the apparent motive in the shooting deaths Thursday of Ronald Hudler, 75, his son Frederick Hudler, 45, and an employee, 25-year-old John Miller. The three were slain on Ronald Hudler's property in Mouth of Wilson, Va., just...

AMSTERDAM, 24/01/08 - The Anne Frank Tree in Amsterdam will be left in place for at least five to ten years. A special construction will support the world-famous chestnut, Arnold Heertje, a committee member of the Support Anne Frank Tree foundation, reported yesterday. The Jewish girl Anne Frank looked out on the chestnut from her hiding place in WWII and wrote about it in her world-famous diary. The announcement at the end of 2007 that the tree would be felled prompted worldwide attention in the media. On the internet, chestnuts from the tree were offered for sale for hundreds of...

'Tree Of Life' Has Lost A Branch, According To Largest Genetic Comparison Of Higher Life Forms EverThe four new super-groups of life are Plants (green and red algae, and plants; Opisthokonts (amoebas, fungi, and all animals—including humans; Excavates (free-living organisms and parasites; SAR (the new main group, an abbreviation of Stramenophiles, Alveolates, and Rhizaria, the names of some of its members). (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Oslo) ScienceDaily (Jan. 22, 2008) — Norwegian and Swiss biologists have made a startling discovery about the relationship between organisms that most people have never heard of. The Tree of Life must be...

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar - A self-destructing palm tree that flowers once every 100 years and then dies has been discovered on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, botanists said Thursday. The name of the giant palm and its remarkable life cycle will be detailed in a study by Kew Gardens scientists in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society published Thursday. "It's spectacular. It does not flower for maybe 100 years and when it's like this it can be mistaken for other types of palm," said Mijoro Rakotoarinivo, who works for the London botanical gardens in Madagascar. "But then a large...

TOKYO - Warren Nobuaki Iwatake's family has seen more than its share of calamity. When he was still a child his father was lost at sea off Hawaii. With no breadwinner, his family was forced to move to Japan, where Iwatake was drafted during the war. He lost a brother when the bomb fell on Hiroshima.

Warren Nobuaki Iwatake's family has seen more than its share of calamity. His father was lost at sea off Hawaii. His family was forced to move to Japan, where he was drafted during the war. He lost a brother when the bomb fell on Hiroshima. But through it all, one thing has remained constant: the tree. His parents bought it in 1937, and his family has brought it out every Christmas since, even when that meant risking arrest. "This tree was a shining light, because it was a symbol of unity in my family," Mr. Iwatake said as he and...

Third Brigade Combat Team Soldiers waved Chemlights while singing Christmas carols during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Dec. 8, at Forward Operating Base Hammer. Photo by Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Soldiers of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT) attended a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Dec. 8, at Forward Operating Base Hammer to welcome a Christmas season spent with their Army family. “I enjoyed the ceremony. It was very motivating and very uplifting,” said Staff. Sgt. Derrick Mears, from Richmond, Va., a communications non-commissioned officer in Headquarters...

SIERRA VISTA — Ron and Joanne Wagner were guests of honor during a special celebration at Sierra Vista Middle School on Monday. The Wagners, who had purchased a Christmas tree that had been donated to the Festival of Trees by the middle school, gave the tree back to the school for students and staff to enjoy. This marked the fourth year the Wagners purchased a tree at the Festival and returned it to the school that donated it. All the ornaments on the tree were hand made by special education students. Now on display in the school library, the tree...

Missouri State University is once again featuring a Christmas tree in strong hall. The tree was put up the day before thanksgiving, but then taken down on Monday. School officials say they did it because there was a need for discussion regarding holiday symbols. Everyone we talked to on campus today said putting the tree back up was the right decision. But, this story is about more than just a Christmas tree. Celebrating Christmas with a tree was not the beginning of concern surrounding religion at Missouri State. "Issues have been raised over the years and this was probably the...

It’s cool to be “Green” right now. NBC devoted a week of programming gimmicks to being “Green,” with recycling and environmental efforts taking over some part of all of their hit shows. Meanwhile, Al Gore won a Nobel Peace Prize and Overture studios shipped out sapling trees with their fall preview kits. Just two signs we’ve seen in the last few weeks that being environmentally conscious is suddenly the right place to be. New York City is following in the trend this year with their oversized Christmas tree. The Rockefeller Center perennial will use LED lighting (light emitting diodes) to...

Row over 'tree man' virus samples By Felix Lowe and agencies Last Updated: 5:00pm GMT 26/11/2007 An Indonesian fisherman who developed tree-like growths on his hands and feet is at the centre of an international medical spat after his country's health minister criticised doctors trying to treat him. Indonesia's health minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, lambasted the US doctor currently treating the 35-year-old man, who has the rare affliction caused by the Human Papilloma Virus. Indonesia's health minister Siti Fadilah Supari (second right) inspects Dede's tree-like growths Mrs Supari is angry that Dr Anthony Gaspari has taken blood and tissue samples...

Amsterdam - Tree surgeons are to examine whether the so-called Anne Frank tree in Amsterdam can be supported to prevent it from falling over. Campaigners believe the tree can be saved after all. The chestnut tree that Anne Frank wrote about in her diary has been the subject of fierce debate in the Dutch capital for some time. The capital's city council wanted to cut the tree down next Wednesday, because it is diseased and there are fears it could fall down. Neighbourhood residents and the Tree Foundation want the tree to be saved.

THE HAGUE (AFP) - A diseased chestnut tree that was fondly described by Anne Frank in her diary about life in hiding under Nazi occupation will be cut down next week, Amsterdam officials said Tuesday. "Initially the tree had been granted a reprieve until January but a new report last week showed that only 28 percent of the wood in the trunk was healthy," Ton Boon of the Amsterdam Centrum borough told AFP. "It is irresponsible to leave it standing. The report shows the tree doesn't even need a storm to snap in two," he explained. Although a licence to...