* Astronomy

Scientists at North Carolina State University have discovered that the fungus-like pathogen that caused the 1840s Irish potato famine originally came from the Andes of South America.
By comparing the sequences of both the nuclear and the cellular powerhouse, mitochondria, of nearly 100 pathogen samples from South America, Central America, North America and Europe, Dr. Jean Beagle Ristaino, professor of plant pathology at NC State, and a small team of researchers created “gene genealogies” that point the finger at an Andean point of origin for the pathogen, which is known as Phytophthora infestans.
The research is published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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