Contents of containers of fossils from 1909 expedition reconstructed nondestructively
Between 1909 and 1913, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin organized and financed the German Tendaguru Expedition (GTE) to southern Tanzania, at that time still the German colony of Deutsch-Ostafrika. With the participation of more than 500 local Afric.....»»
The dynamics of deformable systems: Study unravels mathematical mystery of cable-like structures
Are our bodies solid or liquid? We all know the convention—that solids maintain their shapes, while liquids fill the containers they're in. But often in the real world, those lines are blurred. Imagine walking on a beach. Sometimes the sand gives w.....»»
The complete library of Charles Darwin revealed for the first time
Charles Darwin—arguably the most influential man of science in history, accumulated a vast personal library throughout his working life. Until now, 85% of its contents were unknown or unpublished......»»
A former mine at a fossil-rich site is causing the BLM headaches
Bureau of Land Management's blasting will make the site safe, but may wreck fossils. Enlarge / Blasting taking place at the fossil-rich site. (credit: Bureau of Land Management) Blasting has begun in an area known as “.....»»
A former mine at a fossil-rich site is causing the BLM headaches
Blasting is happening at a former mining site that's also home to unique fossils. Enlarge / Blasting taking place at the fossil-rich site. (credit: Bureau of Land Management) Blasting has begun in an area known as “Com.....»»
Rare 3D fossils show that some early trees had forms unlike any you"ve ever seen
In the fossil record, trees typically are preserved with only their trunks. They don't usually include any leaves to show what their canopies and overall forms may have looked like. But now, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology descri.....»»
Scientists pinpoint growth of brain"s cerebellum as key to evolution of bird flight
Evolutionary biologists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report they have combined PET scans of modern pigeons along with studies of dinosaur fossils to help answer an enduring question in biology: How did the brains of birds evolve to enable them to fly?.....»»
Cognitive archaeology and the psychological assessment of extinct minds
This week, Emiliano Bruner, a paleoneurologist at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), has published a wide-ranging review in the Journal of Comparative Neurology that describes the relationship between fossils a.....»»
Couple sues Ill. dealership for hidden damage in used vehicle they bought, lawsuit says
A former Highland, Ill., dealership is facing a lawsuit for allegedly failing to disclose a used 2020 Ford Expedition it sold had been damaged in two collisions......»»
Lagos styrofoam, plastics ban brings applause and concern
From trash-strewn pavements to street vendors packing meals in polystyrene containers, plastic waste is a constant menace in the urban landscape of Lagos, Nigeria's economic capital and the continent's most populous city......»»
North China fossils show that eukaryotes first acquired multicellularity 1.63 billion years ago
In a study published in Science Advances, researchers led by Prof. Zhu Maoyan from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have reported their recent discovery of 1.63-billion-year-old multicellular fossi.....»»
Colombian mission to Antarctica analyzes climate change footprints
Colombia's 10th Antarctic Expedition is making its way to the far reaches of the continent, exploring remote and almost untouched places inhabited by penguins, whales and the occasional seal......»»
Early evolution of cicadas revealed by analyses of new fossils
To clarify the early evolutionary history of Cicadoidea fossils, the phylogenetic relationships between Mesozoic fossils and extant Cicadoidea, the macroevolution of body structure adaptations, and their relationship with environmental changes, Dr. J.....»»
Evidence of one of the largest explosive eruptions ever recorded in the Aegean Sea
The Greek archipelago of Santorini consists of the remains of a powerful volcano. Members of the international IODP expedition "Hellenic Arc Volcanic Field" have now found evidence of one of the largest eruptions ever recorded in the southern Aegean.....»»
Key moment in the evolution of life on Earth captured in fossils
Curtin-led research has for the first time precisely dated some of the oldest fossils of complex multicellular life in the world, helping to track a pivotal moment in the history of Earth when the seas began teeming with new lifeforms—after 4 billi.....»»
Even the oldest eukaryote fossils show dazzling diversity and complexity
The sun has just set on a quiet mudflat in Australia's Northern Territory; it'll set again in another 19 hours. A young moon looms large over the desolate landscape. No animals scurry in the waning light. No leaves rustle in the breeze. No lichens en.....»»
Fossil birds: Surfaces of cervical vertebrae show conspicuous tubercles that may have served as "internal bony armor"
An international research team has examined unusual skeletal structures of various European bird fossils from the Eocene. The bone surfaces of the approximately 40- to 50-million-year-old cervical vertebrae show conspicuous tubercles, whose origin as.....»»
Fossil evidence of photosynthesis gets a billion years older
Remains of cells from two sites show structures similar to those in present cells. Enlarge / At left, one of the fossils, with stacks of thylakoids highlighted using yellow bars; at right, a higher magnification of the end of the.....»»
"Giant" predator worms more than half a billion years old discovered in North Greenland
Fossils of a new group of animal predators have been located in the Early Cambrian Sirius Passet fossil locality in North Greenland. These large worms may be some of the earliest carnivorous animals to have colonized the water column more than 518 mi.....»»
New research shows "juvenile" T. rex fossils are a distinct species of small tyrannosaur
A new analysis of fossils believed to be juveniles of T. rex now shows they were adults of a small tyrannosaur, with narrower jaws, longer legs, and bigger arms than T. rex. The species, Nanotyrannus lancensis, was first named decades ago but later r.....»»
How archaeologists reconstructed the burning of Jerusalem in 586 BCE
Hebrew bible is only surviving account of siege that laid waste to Solomon's Temple. Enlarge (credit: Assaf Peretz/Israel Antiquities Authority) There's rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes.....»»