Collaborate Disseminate
Some 180 million years ago, there lived an early mammal – built a lot like the guilty looking fella above – that became the earliest-known ancestor to all mammals on Earth, from the blue whale, to the camel, the rhino, the koala, and your good self.Con… Continue reading Researchers rebuild the genome of the great-grandparent of all mammals
Soft tissues don’t fossilize well, so most of the time scientists have to infer organ anatomy from just bones. But an unexpected treasure trove of new information has been discovered in Australia, with a 380-million-year-old fish fossil preserving the oldest heart ever found.
Tags: Heart, Fish, Fossils, Paleontology, World’s Oldest, Australia, Curtin University
Continue reading Oldest known heart found preserved in 380-million-year-old fish fossil
Paleontologists have identified the earliest known mammal – a small shrew-like animal that lived about 225 million years ago. The species, known as Brasilodon, had previously been categorized differently, but new research reveals a distinctly mammalian tooth structure.
Category: Science
Tags: Animals, Evolution, Fossils, Teeth, King’s College London
Continue reading Toothy Triassic shrew crowned earliest known mammal
Archeologists have discovered the oldest evidence of a surgical procedure in humans. A Stone Age hunter-gatherer, who lived more than 30,000 years ago, was found to have a carefully amputated leg, making it the earliest known surgery by tens of thousands of years.
Category: Science
Tags: Surgery, World’s Oldest, Human, History, indonesia, Griffith University, Archeology, Fossils
Continue reading Stone Age surgery: Ancient amputation marks oldest known operation
Armored dinosaurs like Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus were mostly big, bulky animals that walked on four legs, but paleontologists have now discovered a bizarre relative the size of a dog that strutted around on two legs.Continue ReadingCategory: Science… Continue reading Bizarre new armored dinosaur species was a two-legged tank
While prehistoric insects encased in amber certainly are fascinating, they usually don’t look all that different from today’s insects. A newly discovered one, however, is so bizarre that it has been placed in its own unique family.Continue ReadingCateg… Continue reading Fossil bug-eyed insect is weird enough to merit its own distinct family
Scientists analyzing fossilized teeth unearthed in Bulgaria around 40 years ago have traced them to their original owner, which they believe to be Europe’s last giant panda. A close relative of the giant pandas found in China today, the species feature… Continue reading Europe’s last known panda struggled to chew bamboo
For people who get cold sores, the virus is with them for life – but how long has the virus itself been with humanity? Scientists from Cambridge have now sequenced the genome of the facial herpes virus, including samples taken from several ancient huma… Continue reading Ancient genetic study traces “cold sore” virus back 5,000 years
While many people have long hoped that the Loch Ness monster is a present-day plesiosaur, skeptics have pointed out that plesiosaurs lived in the ocean. New research, however, now suggests that some of the creatures may have inhabited freshwater rivers… Continue reading Fossil evidence suggests past existence of freshwater plesiosaurs
The dinosaur king may yet retain its crown. Earlier this year a study proposed that the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex should be split into three distinct species, but a new analysis says there isn’t enough evidence for such a drastic shake-up.Continue Readi… Continue reading No evidence Tyrannosaurus rex is three separate species, says new study