Short answers, pulled from the story.
Maize, with the scientific name Zea mays, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It is called corn in North American English. The name maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage because it refers specifically to this one grain, while corn has varied meanings by region.
Maize was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. The likely location of early domestication is the middle part of the short Balsas River valley in Mexico's southwestern highlands. Genetic work by Doebley and colleagues in 2002 showed maize was domesticated only once.
In 2020, total world maize production was 1.16 billion tonnes, more than any other grain and exceeding both wheat and rice. The United States led with 31.0 percent of the total, and China produced 22.4 percent.
Maize contains the B vitamin niacin, but the body cannot absorb it unless an alkali frees it through a process called nixtamalization. When Europeans adopted maize without this alkali treatment, the lack of available niacin caused pellagra. The disease disappeared in the developed world once alkali processing and dietary variety were applied.
The European corn borer and corn rootworms each cause about a billion dollars in annual losses in the United States. Other serious pests include the fall armyworm and the maize weevil. In 2022, the most damaging U.S. disease was tar spot, which caused losses of 116.8 million bushels.
Maize is a staple food used in Mexican tortillas and tamales, Italian polenta, and American hominy grits. It is also processed into cornstarch, high fructose corn syrup, corn oil, and bourbon whiskey. Beyond food, it serves as animal feed, a feedstock for ethanol fuel, and a base for plastics, fabrics, and adhesives.