from pgs 1158-1159 of today's issue of "Science" magazine:

Prehistoric GM Corn
Nina V. Fedoroff

[First paragraph of article]

Corn (maize) is arguably man's first, and perhaps his greatest,
feat of genetic engineering. Its huge ears--each packed with firmly
attached kernels filled with starch, protein, and oil--make it a
food staple. Contemporary corn, unlike its wild grassy ancestor
teosinte, can't survive without people because it can't disperse
its own seeds. The origins of maize have long intrigued geneticists,
but only recently have new molecular methods enabled evolutionary
sleuths to pinpoint its origins and identify the genetic modifications (GMs)
that enabled the radical transformation of teosinte into contemporary maize.
On page 1206 of this issue, Jaenicke-Després, Doebley, and their
colleagues (1) provide the latest chapter in this detective story
and suggest that prehistoric people were quick to adopt GM corn.

[Remainder omitted to stay within copyright fair use provisions.]

Check the articles out -- very interesting!

Tom Billings