Not elder law: Methuselah tree grows from 2000 year old Masada seed
The 4-foot-tall sapling looks just like any other young date palm.But the tree, growing in a laboratory in Jerusalem, is anything butordinary. Named “Methuselah” by one of its cultivators, the saplinggrew from a 2,000-year-old seed – the oldest scientifically dated 
seedto ever be germinated. Ina study reported last week in the journal Science, a team of Israeliresearchers confirmed the seed’s age using radiocarbon dating, whichdetermines age by measuring levels of a type of carbon found in allliving organisms that decays at a specific rate.
The Methuselahseed, named after the oldest person in the Bible, was recovered 40years ago, along with other seeds, from an archeological dig at Masada,an ancient stronghold where nearly 1,000 Jewish zealots are said tohave committed suicide rather than be captured by Roman soldiers aroundAD 70. The seeds sat in a drawer until 2005, when Israeliscientist Dr. Sarah Sallon procured them for study. She and botanistElaine Solowey planted three seeds and held their breath. Eight weekslater, the first shoots poked through the soil.
More: http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2008/06/16/methuselah_tree_grows_from_ages_old_seed/