All posts; Tags Include "Paleontology"
- September 1, 2016
- 10:19 AM
- 82 views
Responsible resurrection: The ecology of de-extinction
by gdw in FictionalFieldwork
March of the mammoths Improvements in our genetic tinkering capabilities have led several people to suggest potential uses for our newfound powers. Although we ought to add some nuance and note that those powers are still in development. In any case, one of those powers is quite impressive. De-extinction, or the process of bringing back […]... Read more »
Seddon PJ, Griffiths CJ, Soorae PS, & Armstrong DP. (2014) Reversing defaunation: restoring species in a changing world. Science, 345(6195), 406-12. PMID: 25061203
McCauley, D., Hardesty-Moore, M., Halpern, B., & Young, H. (2016) A mammoth undertaking: harnessing insight from functional ecology to shape de-extinction priority setting. Functional Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12728
- July 28, 2016
- 08:34 AM
- 286 views
Game of Farmers: Agriculture is coming
by gdw in FictionalFieldwork
Gron gazed across the plain from inside a tuft of long grass. There. Just in front of the far hillock. Gazelles. Meals on legs. He vaguely remembered mother carrying him through cooler forests when he was not yet old enough to walk. He had never understood why they had left. But he had learned, had […]... Read more »
Zeder MA. (2008) Domestication and early agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin: Origins, diffusion, and impact. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(33), 11597-604. PMID: 18697943
Lazaridis, I., Nadel, D., Rollefson, G., Merrett, D., Rohland, N., Mallick, S., Fernandes, D., Novak, M., Gamarra, B., Sirak, K.... (2016) Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature19310
- July 7, 2016
- 02:44 PM
- 321 views
Biological fight: kites, mites, quite bright plights
by Piter Boll in Earthling Nature
by Piter Kehoma Boll A recently described fossil from the Silurian Herefordshire Lagerstätte in the United Kingdom has called much attention. The appearance of the creature was build by scanning the rock and creating a 3D reconstruction of the fossil. … Continue reading →... Read more »
Briggs, D., Siveter, D., Siveter, D., Sutton, M., & Legg, D. (2016) Tiny individuals attached to a new Silurian arthropod suggest a unique mode of brood care. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(16), 4410-4415. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1600489113
Briggs, D., Siveter, D., Siveter, D., Sutton, M., & Legg, D. (2016) Reply to Piper: Aquilonifer’s kites are not mites . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(24). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1606265113
Piper, R. (2016) Offspring or phoronts? An alternative interpretation of the “kite-runner” fossil. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(24). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605909113
- June 16, 2016
- 08:30 AM
- 313 views
An omelette of extinction
by gdw in FictionalFieldwork
~50 000 years ago He wakes. The first sunrays slowly crawl over the horizon. As he gets up, the others in his family group stir. He surveys this new land. His stomach grumbles… # Present day Born in an African cradle, humanity has spread across the globe. And almost everywhere we went, we managed to […]... Read more »
Miller G, Magee J, Smith M, Spooner N, Baynes A, Lehman S, Fogel M, Johnston H, Williams D, Clark P.... (2016) Human predation contributed to the extinction of the Australian megafaunal bird Genyornis newtoni ∼47 ka. Nature communications, 10496. PMID: 26823193
- May 25, 2016
- 09:00 AM
- 440 views
Are our gut bacteria the key to immortality?
by gdw in FictionalFieldwork
The fight against aging Ever since the ancient Sumerians, men has sought eternal life. We still do. Anti-aging science has become quite an industry. As we dive deeper and deeper into our biological foundations, we’re learning more and more about how and why we age. A lot of mysteries remain, but there’s still talk about […]... Read more »
De Winter, G. (2014) Aging as Disease. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 18(2), 237-243. DOI: 10.1007/s11019-014-9600-y
Biagi E, Franceschi C, Rampelli S, Severgnini M, Ostan R, Turroni S, Consolandi C, Quercia S, Scurti M, Monti D.... (2016) Gut Microbiota and Extreme Longevity. Current biology : CB. PMID: 27185560
- May 10, 2016
- 07:40 AM
- 351 views
Do dragons dream of tasty crickets?
by gdw in FictionalFieldwork
(Also appeared on United Academics) Sleep cycles When we leave the day behind us and nestle ourselves in our cosy beds, we sleep. Sleep, however, comes in stages that repeat themselves. It’s a five-stage cycle that last about 90 minutes in humans. Four stages of non-REM sleep are followed by a period of REM (Rapid […]... Read more »
Ólafsdóttir HF, Barry C, Saleem AB, Hassabis D, & Spiers HJ. (2015) Hippocampal place cells construct reward related sequences through unexplored space. eLife. PMID: 26112828
Shein-Idelson M, Ondracek JM, Liaw HP, Reiter S, & Laurent G. (2016) Slow waves, sharp waves, ripples, and REM in sleeping dragons. Science (New York, N.Y.), 352(6285), 590-5. PMID: 27126045
- April 11, 2016
- 02:00 AM
- 460 views
Week 14 In Review: Open-Access Science | 4 to 10 April
by TakFurTheKaffe in Tak Fur The Kaffe
River flooding boosts carbon emissions, six new species of Chinese dragon millipedes discovered, how ancient animals adapted to climate change, maths tell palaeontologists where to find fossils, and the Arctic Ocean was ice-free ten million years ago. Here are five of the latest scientific studies published open-access this week.... Read more »
Stegen, J., Fredrickson, J., Wilkins, M., Konopka, A., Nelson, W., Arntzen, E., Chrisler, W., Chu, R., Danczak, R., Fansler, S.... (2016) Groundwater–surface water mixing shifts ecological assembly processes and stimulates organic carbon turnover. Nature Communications, 11237. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11237
Liu, W., Golovatch, S., & Tian, M. (2016) Six new species of dragon millipedes, genus Desmoxytes Chamberlin, 1923, mostly from caves in China (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae). ZooKeys, 1-24. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.577.7825
Botha-Brink, J., Codron, D., Huttenlocker, A., Angielczyk, K., & Ruta, M. (2016) Breeding Young as a Survival Strategy during Earth’s Greatest Mass Extinction. Scientific Reports, 24053. DOI: 10.1038/srep24053
Block, S., Saltré, F., Rodríguez-Rey, M., Fordham, D., Unkel, I., & Bradshaw, C. (2016) Where to Dig for Fossils: Combining Climate-Envelope, Taphonomy and Discovery Models. PLOS ONE, 11(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151090
Stein, R., Fahl, K., Schreck, M., Knorr, G., Niessen, F., Forwick, M., Gebhardt, C., Jensen, L., Kaminski, M., Kopf, A.... (2016) Evidence for ice-free summers in the late Miocene central Arctic Ocean. Nature Communications, 11148. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11148
- April 1, 2016
- 11:26 AM
- 454 views
What's In a Snout?
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
It may sound superficial, but you can judge a lot about an animal from its schnoz. Plant-eaters have evolved the perfect snout shapes to nibble, chomp, or tear up the foods they love. And by decoding those shapes, scientists hope they can learn more about plant-eaters that are more mysterious—namely, dinosaurs.
"When you see cows in a field, their faces almost look like they're glued to the ground as they nibble away," says Jon Tennant, a PhD student at Imperial College London. Cows are ........ Read more »
Tennant, J., & MacLeod, N. (2014) Snout Shape in Extant Ruminants. PLoS ONE, 9(11). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112035
- March 6, 2016
- 11:51 PM
- 443 views
From evolutionary morphology to Godzilla
by adam phillips in It Ain't Magic
I recently spoke with Chief Scientist Shigeru Kuratani about evolutionary morphology, sci-fi monsters, the genius of Alien, and more.... Read more »
Sugahara, F., Pascual-Anaya, J., Oisi, Y., Kuraku, S., Aota, S., Adachi, N., Takagi, W., Hirai, T., Sato, N., Murakami, Y.... (2016) Evidence from cyclostomes for complex regionalization of the ancestral vertebrate brain. Nature, 531(7592), 97-100. DOI: 10.1038/nature16518
- March 2, 2016
- 07:05 AM
- 602 views
Big Bugs, Little Bugs
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Insects used to be huge – dragonflies the size of kites – so why are they so much smaller today? Believe it or not, it has to do with the evolution of tree trunks and the fact that many of insects breathe through holes in their sides. ... Read more »
Matthew E. Clapham1 and Jered A. Karr. (2012) Environmental and biotic controls on the evolutionary history of insect body size. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1204026109
- February 14, 2016
- 12:25 AM
- 664 views
Week Six In Review: Open-Access Science | 8 to 14 Feb
by TakFurTheKaffe in Tak Fur The Kaffe
Migrants to ancient Rome, more advanced Mesolithic Swedish communities, delayed transatlantic flights, expanding bird populations, and greener deserts thanks to climate change. Here are five of the latest scientific studies published open-access this week.... Read more »
Killgrove, K., & Montgomery, J. (2016) All Roads Lead to Rome: Exploring Human Migration to the Eternal City through Biochemistry of Skeletons from Two Imperial-Era Cemeteries (1st-3rd c AD). PLOS ONE, 11(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147585
Williams, P. (2016) Transatlantic flight times and climate change. Environmental Research Letters, 11(2), 24008. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/11/2/024008
Stidham, T., & Eberle, J. (2016) The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. Scientific Reports, 20912. DOI: 10.1038/srep20912
Boethius, A. (2016) Something rotten in Scandinavia: The world's earliest evidence of fermentation. Journal of Archaeological Science, 169-180. DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2016.01.008
Lu, X., Wang, L., & McCabe, M. (2016) Elevated CO2 as a driver of global dryland greening. Scientific Reports, 20716. DOI: 10.1038/srep20716
- February 1, 2016
- 03:59 PM
- 571 views
The tegu lizard and the origin of warm-blooded animals
by Piter Boll in Earthling Nature
by Piter Kehoma Boll Warm blood is the popular way to refer to endothermy, the ability that certain animals have to maintain a high body temperature by the use of heat generated via metabolism, especially in internal organs. Mammals and birds … Continue reading →... Read more »
KEMP, T. (2006) The origin of mammalian endothermy: a paradigm for the evolution of complex biological structure. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 147(4), 473-488. DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2006.00226.x
Tattersall, G., Leite, C., Sanders, C., Cadena, V., Andrade, D., Abe, A., & Milsom, W. (2016) Seasonal reproductive endothermy in tegu lizards. Science Advances, 2(1). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500951
- January 15, 2016
- 12:57 PM
- 475 views
Dawn of a New Geologic Era
by Jenny Ludmer in Rooster's Report
In the Jurassic period, dinosaurs ruled and continents separated, while in the more recent Holocene, glaciers retreated and the earth warmed. Now, using the same type of data, geologists say we’ve entered a new era. Welcome to the Anthropocene — a geologic era triggered by humankind.... Read more »
Waters, C., Zalasiewicz, J., Summerhayes, C., Barnosky, A., Poirier, C., Ga uszka, A., Cearreta, A., Edgeworth, M., Ellis, E., Ellis, M.... (2016) The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene. Science, 351(6269). DOI: 10.1126/science.aad2622
- November 24, 2015
- 06:19 AM
- 924 views
Corn Color Concepts
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Indian corn isn’t corn, it’s maize. But not all corn is maize, corn is actually an old word that denotes the major crop of any particular region. The colors are most beautiful, including a newly breed variety called Carl’s Glass Gem corn. The spots of color were instrumental in our understanding of DNA and gene movement, but do you think we would be so fast to decorate our houses with it if it were common knowledge how much Indian corn has in common with the causative agents of........ Read more »
Pohl ME, Piperno DR, Pope KO, Jones JG. (2007) Microfossil evidence for pre-Columbian maize dispersals in the neotropics from San Andres, Tabasco, Mexico. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. , 104(16), 6870-6875. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0701425104
Keely SP, & Stringer JR. (2009) Complexity of the MSG gene family of Pneumocystis carinii. BMC genomics, 367. PMID: 19664205
- October 29, 2015
- 11:26 AM
- 758 views
Fossils and the Origin and Diversification of Birds
by Suvrat Kher in Rapid Uplift
An improving Mesozoic dinosaur and bird fossil record highlights details of their evolutionary history and also illuminates some general principles of evolution... Read more »
Brusatte, S., O’Connor, J., & Jarvis, E. (2015) The Origin and Diversification of Birds. Current Biology, 25(19). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.003
Erwin, D. (2015) Novelty and Innovation in the History of Life. Current Biology, 25(19). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.019
- October 26, 2015
- 01:25 AM
- 845 views
A week in review: Top open-access science stories
by Cath Jex in Tak Fur The Kaffe
There's simply not enough time in the week to write about everything that I'd like! So here are 6 extra short summaries of scientific studies published during the past week, available free via open-access journals for anyone and everyone to read and enjoy!... Read more »
Bergmann, M., Sandhop, N., Schewe, I., & D’Hert, D. (2015) Observations of floating anthropogenic litter in the Barents Sea and Fram Strait, Arctic. Polar Biology. DOI: 10.1007/s00300-015-1795-8
Padowski, J., Gorelick, S., Thompson, B., Rozelle, S., & Fendorf, S. (2015) Assessment of human–natural system characteristics influencing global freshwater supply vulnerability. Environmental Research Letters, 10(10), 104014. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/104014
Conrad, T., & Ayasse, M. (2015) The Role of Vibrations in Population Divergence in the Red Mason Bee, Osmia bicornis. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.059
Luo J, Ault JS, Shay LK, Hoolihan JP, Prince ED, Brown CA, & Rooker JR. (2015) Ocean Heat Content Reveals Secrets of Fish Migrations. PloS one, 10(10). PMID: 26484541
Yoon JH, Wang SY, Gillies RR, Kravitz B, Hipps L, & Rasch PJ. (2015) Increasing water cycle extremes in California and in relation to ENSO cycle under global warming. Nature communications, 8657. PMID: 26487088
Lively, J. (2015) A new species of baenid turtle from the Kaiparowits Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Campanian) of southern Utah. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2015.1009084
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- October 21, 2015
- 06:00 AM
- 548 views
Prehistoric Utah Rock Art Does Not Depict a Pterosaur, Study Confirms
by Blake de Pastino in Western Digs
Dealing what they say is a “mortal blow” to the interpretation of some creationists, a team of archaeologists has concluded that a panel of rock art in Utah portrays all manner of fantastic figures, but it does not, in fact, depict a pterosaur.
... Read more »
Le Quellec, J., Bahn, P., & Rowe, M. (2015) The death of a pterodactyl. Antiquity, 89(346), 872-884. DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2015.54
- October 18, 2015
- 12:25 AM
- 651 views
This is what a fossil dinosaur nest looks like!
by Cath Jex in Tak Fur The Kaffe
Palaeontologists have unearthed the remains of a nest of baby dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia.... Read more »
Dewaele, L., Tsogtbaatar, K., Barsbold, R., Garcia, G., Stein, K., Escuillié, F., & Godefroit, P. (2015) Perinatal Specimens of Saurolophus angustirostris (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae), from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. PLOS ONE, 10(10). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138806
- October 15, 2015
- 06:00 AM
- 479 views
‘Strange’ New Species of Marine Mammal Discovered in Alaska Fossils
by Blake de Pastino in Western Digs
An odd set of fossils that were once on display at a tribal office in Alaska have turned out to be a “strange” new species of marine mammal unlike any living today, scientists say.
... Read more »
Chiba, K., Fiorillo, A., Jacobs, L., Kimura, Y., Kobayashi, Y., Kohno, N., Nishida, Y., Polcyn, M., & Tanaka, K. (2015) A new desmostylian mammal from Unalaska (USA) and the robust Sanjussen jaw from Hokkaido (Japan), with comments on feeding in derived desmostylids. Historical Biology, 28(1-2), 289-303. DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2015.1046718
- October 5, 2015
- 06:00 AM
- 512 views
Montana Dinosaur Species Grew Fast, Died Young, May Have Been Warm-Blooded
by Blake de Pastino in Western Digs
Dinosaurs known as Maiasaura roamed the high, dry valleys of what’s now northwestern Montana some 75 million years ago, and an enormous bone bed there containing thousands of the animals is allowing scientists to learn more about this dinosaur than any other that’s ever been studied before.
... Read more »
Woodward, H., Freedman Fowler, E., Farlow, J., & Horner, J. (2015) Maiasaura, a model organism for extinct vertebrate population biology: a large sample statistical assessment of growth dynamics and survivorship. Paleobiology, 1-25. DOI: 10.1017/pab.2015.19
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