CHANGSHA -- Paddy-field remains dating back over 8,000 years have been discovered in Central China's Hunan province, according to the provincial cultural relics and archaeology research institute.

Rice plants are a big source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Scientists just developed a strain that cuts those emissions by 70 percent.

The craft flew over a 1000-square-meter rice paddy, scattering seeds treated beforehand with powdered iron to ensure a smooth drop from the air. The seeding process took just 10 minutes.

Paddy-field remains dating back over 8,000 years have been discovered in central China's Hunan Province ... including two ancient rice-paddy fields, trenches, house sites, pits, ditches, tombs ...

Rice cultivation ... its creation with China and other governments. It also wants to further research whether it might help to apply ethanol or oxantel to paddies to reduce methanogens without ...