Funding: This study was supported by the Programa Nacional de Investigación Científica y Estudios Avanzados (PROCIENCIA) funded by the Project through the Contract N° 026-2016-FONDECYT “Círculo de ...

Cacao fruit are the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree, and come in a range of colors as they ripen, ranging from vivid yellow to a deep red. The Aztecs used the pods as a form of money, while the ...

Archaeologists have shed light on the origins of chocolate by tracing the spread of the cacao tree. A new study published in Scientific Reports found that the cacao tree, which grows cocoa beans, ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists are getting a better taste of the early history of the domestication and use of cacao - the source of chocolate - thanks to residues detected on a batch of ancient ...

It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without chocolate. Yet cacao trees, which are the source of chocolate, are vulnerable. I am a passionate chocolate lover and an entomologist who studies cacao ...

Discovery of new species could pave way for more climate-resilient cacao production Revelation shows much still to be done to uncover Earth's biodiversity Three new species discovered in rainforests ...

Molecular geneticists have known for about a decade that genomic structural variants can play important roles in the adaptation and speciation of both plants and animals, but their overall influence ...

Cacao fruit grow on the trunks, rather than the branches of Theobroma trees. They are harvested all year round by carefully cutting them from the tree using a specialized knife, instead of a machine.

Discovery of three new species in the Western Amazon could pave way for more climate-proof cacao production — and shows how many treasures are still yet to be discovered in Earth's biodiversity. And ...