Researchers can use the mineral rutile to learn about rock types and their history. Two articles published in the journal Geology now present a new application of a method for more easily tracing the mineral rutile. The co-authors of the articles are researchers at the University of Gothenburg. Rutile is used in ceramics and paints, […]
Archive for November, 2013
Biomechanics of Running Indicates Endothermy in Bipedal Dinosaurs
November 16th, 2013 
riffin One of the great unresolved controversies in paleobiology is whether extinct dinosaurs were endothermic, ectothermic, or some combination thereof, and when endothermy first evolved in the lineage leading to birds. Although it is well established that high, sustained growth rates and, presumably, high activity levels are ancestral for dinosaurs and pterosaurs (clade Ornithodira), other independent […]
Dogs Likely Originated in Europe More Than 18,000 Years Ago, Biologists Report
November 15th, 2013 Riffin Wolves likely were domesticated by European hunter-gatherers more than 18,000 years ago and gradually evolved into dogs that became household pets, UCLA life scientists report. “We found that instead of recent wolves being closest to domestic dogs, ancient European wolves were directly related to them,” said Robert Wayne, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology […]
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Tags: Ancient dog, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, WFS, world fossil society 
No Comments »Evidence of 3.5-Billion-Year-Old Bacterial Ecosystems Found in Australia
November 13th, 2013 riffin Reconstructing the rise of life during the period of Earth’s history when it first evolved is challenging. Earth’s oldest sedimentary rocks are not only rare, but also almost always altered by hydrothermal and tectonic activity. A new study from a team including Carnegie’s Nora Noffke, a visiting investigator, and Robert Hazen revealed the well-preserved remnants […]
Visualizing the Past: Nondestructive Imaging of Ancient Fossils
November 12th, 2013 riffin By integrating high-resolution X-ray imaging (termed microCT), 3D image segmentation, and computer animation, a new study conducted by Carole Gee at the University of Bonn, Germany, demonstrates the visualization of fossils without destroying the material. Traditional techniques, such as thin-sectioning, require investigators to physically cut up the fossil in order to observe internal structures. Dr. […]
Scientists Digitally Reconstruct Giant Steps Taken by Dinosaurs for the First Time
November 10th, 2013 riffin The Manchester team, working with scientists in Argentina, were able to laser scan a 40 metre-long skeleton of the vast Cretaceous Argentinosaurus dinosaur. Then using an advanced computer modeling technique involving the equivalent of 30,000 desktop computers they recreated its walking and running movements and tested its locomotion ability tested for the very first time. […]
`X-Rays Reveal Inner Structure of Earth’s Ancient Magma Ocean
November 9th, 2013 riffin Using the world’s most brilliant X-ray source, scientists have for the first time peered into molten magma at conditions of the deep Earth mantle. The analysis at DESY’s light source PETRA III revealed that molten basalt changes its structure when exposed to pressure of up to 60 gigapascals (GPa), corresponding to a depth of about […]
Earliest Record of Copulating Insects Discovered
November 8th, 2013 riffin Scientists have found the oldest fossil depicting copulating insects in northeastern China, published November 6th in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Dong Ren and colleagues at the Capital Normal University in China. Fossil records of mating insects are fairly sparse, and therefore our current knowledge of mating position and genitalia orientation in the early […]
Newly Discovered Predatory Dinosaur ‘King of Gore’ Reveals the Origins of T. Rex
November 7th, 2013 riffin A remarkable new species of tyrannosaur has been unearthed in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), southern Utah. The huge carnivore inhabited Laramidia, a landmass formed on the western coast of a shallow sea that flooded the central region of North America, isolating western and eastern portions of the continent for millions of years during the […]
Clay May Have Been Birthplace of Life On Earth, New Study Suggests
November 6th, 2013 riffin Clay, a seemingly infertile blend of minerals, might have been the birthplace of life on Earth. Or at least of the complex biochemicals that make life possible, Cornell University biological engineers report in the Nov. 7 online issue of the journal Scientific Reports, published by Nature Publishing. “We propose that in early geological history clay […]
