Women warriors

Tehran, Dec. 5 (Reuters): These days Iranian women are not even allowed to watch men compete on the football field, but 2,000 years ago they could have been carving the boys to pieces on the battlefield.

DNA tests on the 2,000-year-old bones of a sword-wielding Iranian warrior have revealed the broad-framed skeleton belonged to a woman, an archaeologist working in the northwestern city of Tabriz said on Saturday.

?Despite earlier comments that the warrior was a man because of the metal sword, DNA tests showed the skeleton inside the tomb belonged to a female warrior,? Alireza Hojabri-Nobari told the Hambastegi newspaper.

He added the tomb, which had all the trappings of a warrior?s final resting place, was one of 109.

Green good

New York (Reuters): New research provides further evidence that substances in kale, spinach and other green vegetables help protect ageing eyes from cataracts. In an experiment, investigators found that human eye cells treated with antioxidants called lutein and zeaxanthin showed less damage after being exposed to ultraviolet rays, the sunlight ingredient considered a major contributor to cataracts.