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 […]
Posts Tagged ‘Russel T Sajeev’
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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 […]
Fossil of Largest Known Platypus Discovered in Australia
November 5th, 2013 riffin No living mammal is more peculiar than the platypus. It has a broad, duck-like bill, thick, otter-like fur, and webbed, beaver-like feet. The platypus lays eggs rather than gives birth to live young, its snout is covered with electroreceptors that detect underwater prey, and male platypuses have a venomous spur on their hind foot. Until […]
Development of Cryptic Worms Provides New Insights Into Molluscan Evolution
November 4th, 2013 riffin There are still a lot of unanswered questions about mollusks, e.g. snails, slugs and mussels. The research group of Andreas Wanninger, Head of the Department of Integrative Zoology of the University of Vienna, took a detailed look at the development of cryptic worms. The larvae of the “wirenia argentea” hold a much more complex muscular […]
Extinct ‘Mega Claw’ Creature Had Spider-Like Brain
November 3rd, 2013 riffin Researchers have discovered the earliest known complete nervous system exquisitely preserved in the fossilized remains of a never-before described creature that crawled or swam in the ocean 520 million years ago. Research led by University of Arizona Regents’ Professor Nick Strausfeld and London Natural History Museum’s Greg Edgecombe has revealed that the ancestors of chelicerates […]
