A. "Many seeds, including tomatoes, have an impermeable outer layer that protects the seed and allows the delicate embryo to survive the trip through an animal's digestive system," said Kerry Barringer, curator of the herbarium at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
As the archaeologists gathered round, they saw the object of Mr. Kvachidze's excitement -- an inch-long cylindrical bead, reddish pink and looking too delicate to have survived the centuries.
Rose became the emblem of the brave, shadowy souls too delicate and too fearful to survive in "the beanstalk country" of daily tribulations.
But forcing the island to the table is a delicate game; were Taiwan to survive a misguided mainland military campaign, it would probably declare independence and win widespread diplomatic support abroad.
Without them, the delicate ecosystem fish need to survive won't be able to establish itself.
"Circusgoing is a national pastime in Switzerland, but the circuses have had to make changes to survive in delicate financial circumstances and to keep their identity," said Frederic Bullmann, who wrote a magazine about Swiss circuses for 20 years.
While this disparity presents an opportunity, it also raises the delicate question of which species get to survive the current extinction crisis.
Living tissues and their associated cells maintain a delicate balance between reductive and oxidative processes to survive.
In a good cast, only Ms. Agnew, as the female prisoner, fails to convince: with her small, perfect features, she looks as delicate as a porcelain Madonna, and just as unlikely to survive rough handling.
