Microbes that have been suspended in permafrost for up to 40,000 years could “reawaken” and start churning out greenhouse gases if Arctic summers grow much longer, new research suggests. Under future climate conditions, microbes that have been dormant since the last ice age (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago) may only need a few months to reactivate, according to a …
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Scientists unearth a 112-million-year-old time capsule filled with ancient insects
Scientists have uncovered the first South American amber deposits containing preserved insects in a quarry in Ecuador, according to a study published in Communications Earth & Environment. The discovery captures a vivid picture of a 112-million-year-old forest that once thrived on the ancient supercontinent Gondwana and opens new doors for exploring a long-overlooked prehistoric ecosystem. Amber (fossilized tree resin) has …
Read More »1,000-year-old Mesoamerican mummy from Mexico reveals ancient human gut microbiome – Archaeology News Online Magazine
1,000-year-old Mesoamerican mummy from Mexico reveals ancient human gut microbiome Archaeology News Online Magazine 1,000-year-old gut microbiome revealed for young man who lived in pre-Hispanic Mexico Phys.org What Was Found Inside a 1,000-Year-Old Pre-Hispanic Gut Left Scientists Speechless! Indian Defence Review A 1,000-Year-Old Mesoamerican Mummy Reveals an Ancient Man’s Microbiome Discover Magazine 1,000-year-old Mexican mummy’s gut unveils surprising ancient microbial world Interesting Engineering Source link
Read More »Loops of DNA Equipped Ancient Life To Become Complex
The overall structure of a chromosome can be divided first into large territories, then into more specialized compartments, and then into topologically associating domains, known as TADs. These TADs are often thought of as functional or regulatory “neighborhoods” that put related DNA sequences together. Loops are smaller structures within them that do the finer-scale work of bringing separated parts of …
Read More »Ancient Inhabitants of Teotihuacan May Have Left Clues Explaining Their Mysterious Disappearance
A new analysis of artwork left behind by the enigmatic inhabitants of the abandoned Mesoamerican city Teotihuacan suggests the colorful pictures and shapes may constitute a rudimentary language that ultimately evolved into the language of the Aztecs. If the team of researchers behind the discovery can successfully decipher the “lost language,” they believe it could offer clues about the identity …
Read More »Ancient Signal Confirms What The Very First Animals Truly Looked Like : ScienceAlert
Ever since scientists began to understand evolution, they’ve been arguing over the contentious question of what, exactly, the first animal looked like. Based on genetic analysis, some say today’s common sponges (aka demosponges, Porifera) are most like our original animal ancestor; others argue comb jellies better fit the bill. New research led by scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) …
Read More »Scientists Uncover Ancient Dinosaur with Unexplained Sail-Like Structure
A fascinating new discovery from England’s Isle of Wight has unveiled a previously overlooked dinosaur, Istiorachis macarthurae, which is marked by an extraordinary sail along its back and tail. These fossils, which sat in a museum for decades, have now become a source of scientific intrigue, shedding new light on the roles of social signals in the dinosaur world. Jeremy …
Read More »An Ancient Infection May Play a Critical Role in Our First Moments of Life : ScienceAlert
Fragments of DNA left by viruses that infected our distant ancestors may be ‘firestarters’ for new human life, new research finds. “Our results illustrate how recently emerged… genes can confer developmentally essential functions in humans,” Stanford University biologist Raquel Fueyo and colleagues write in their paper. Fueyo and her team used a ball of stem cells induced to mimic a …
Read More »Leopards ate our ancient human ancestors’ faces, AI analysis reveals
Almost 2 million years ago, leopards likely hunted and feasted on our human ancestors in East Africa, a new study finds. The research, which used artificial intelligence (AI) analysis tools, provides insight into the demise of two prehistoric individuals from the archaic human species Homo habilis — one of the earliest members of the Homo genus. Previous studies have suggested …
Read More »‘All the trees are dead’: An ancient California forest has been wiped out – San Francisco Chronicle
‘All the trees are dead’: An ancient California forest has been wiped out San Francisco Chronicle Source link
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