Sweet Beginnings: Origins of Chocolate Found

A genetic tweak about 10 million years ago may be responsible for delicious chocolate bars, new research suggests. The cacao tree's ancient roots suggest it has greater genetic diversity in the wild than previously thought. "We show for the first time that the source of chocolate, Theobroma cacao, is remarkably old for an Amazonian plant species," study lead author James Richardson, a tropical botanist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland, said in a statement.