Collaborate Disseminate
This week Jonathan Bennett and Dan Lynch chat with Paweł Karaś about Amber, a modern scripting language that compiles into a Bash script. Want to write scripts with built-in error …read more Continue reading FLOSS Weekly Episode 790: Better Bash Scripting with Amber
DNA is a much denser data storage medium than anything humans can design, but the problem is that it’s fragile. So now scientists have taken another page out of nature’s book and created artificial amber to protect data stored in DNA longer term.Contin… Continue reading Artificial amber stores data in DNA long-term
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
Tardigrades are microscopic creatures notorious for surviving almost anything you can throw at them, but one thing they’re not good at is fossilizing. Now, an exceptionally well-preserved, “once-in-a-generation” tardigrade fossil has been found in a bl… Continue reading Extremely rare tardigrade fossil discovered in 16-million-year old amber
One of nature’s most intriguing horror stories is that of the fungus that “zombifies” ants to spread its spores. Now, researchers have discovered the oldest known example of this kind of parasite at work, preserved in ancient amber.Continue ReadingCate… Continue reading Novel “zombie ant” fungus discovered in ancient amber
Fossilized tree resin, commonly known as amber, has offered paleontologists extraordinary insights into ancient ecosystems. The latest golden time capsule discovery comes from Oregon State University researchers who have identified a completely new, pr… Continue reading “Amazing” new species of flower discovered in 100-million-year-old amber
Scientists have successfully extracted DNA from insects trapped in amber. But before you start dreaming of a certain park, there’s one huge caveat to mention – any creatures you might revive from this would hail from the not-so-distant past of about 20… Continue reading Scientists successfully extract insect DNA from amber – from 2014
Researchers have discovered the oldest known animal sperm sample, dating back 100 million years. A piece of amber caught dozens of small crustaceans called ostracods in a compromising position with their “soft parts” out, and weirder still their sperm … Continue reading 100-million-year-old giant sperm trapped in amber is world’s oldest
Fossilized tree resin, or amber, from the Cretaceous period has provided all kinds of fascinating insights into long-gone creatures that once inhabited the Earth. These include ticks with an appetite for dinosaur blood, dinosaurs with feathered tails a… Continue reading Ancient fossil shows how killer “hell ant” clamped down on its prey
While huge dinosaur skeletons sure look impressive towering over us in museums, there’s only so much we can learn from dusty old bones. But occasionally more striking specimens turn up bearing skin or feathers, encased in gemstones, and even preserving… Continue reading Not just boring old bones: 6 incredible dinosaur fossils