Insect, dart tip, corn, corn, throne, beetle, shucked corn.

Vertical fish, eyes, skin, bivalve..and corn.

Huh?

That's what anthropologists and archaeologists alike are asking after the discovery of the Cascajal Block, an ancient slab of writing which is thought to be the oldest known writing system in the Western Hemisphere.

Kevin J. Tracey, MD, may have discovered the reason why Buddhist and Hindu monks tend to live longer and healthier lives. He recently spoke at a conference co-hosted by the Columbia University Integrative Medicine Program and Tibet House, discussing how advances in western medicine might explain what has been, until now, a mystical and religious phenomenon. The guest of honor at the conference was the Dalai Lama himself, who has been very cooperative in allowing the study of his religious followers for medical purposes.