Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

New geosciences study shows Triassic fossils that reveal origins of living amphibians      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of paleontologists have discovered the first 'unmistakable' Triassic-era caecilian fossil -- the oldest-known caecilian fossils -- thus extending the record of this small, burrowing animal by roughly 35 million years. The find also fills a gap of at least 87 million years in the known historical fossil record of the amphibian-like creature.

Biology: Evolutionary Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

What crocodile DNA reveals about the Ice Age      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What drives crocodile evolution? Is climate a major factor or changes in sea levels? Determined to find answers to these questions, researchers discovered that while changing temperatures and rainfall had little impact on the crocodiles' gene flow over the past three million years, changes to sea levels during the Ice Age had a different effect.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Plague trackers: Researchers cover thousands of years in a quest to understand the elusive origins of the Black Death      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Seeking to better understand more about the origins and movement of bubonic plague, in ancient and contemporary times, researchers have completed a painstaking granular examination of hundreds of modern and ancient genome sequences, creating the largest analysis of its kind.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Researchers uncover 92 fossil nests belonging to some of India's largest dinosaurs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The discovery of more than 250 fossilized eggs reveals intimate details about the lives of titanosaurs in the Indian subcontinent, according to a new study.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Mummified crocodiles provide insights into mummy-making over time      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Crocodiles were mummified in a unique way at the Egyptian site of Qubbat al-Hawa during the 5th Century BC, according to a new study.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Marriage in Minoan Crete      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team of researchers achieves completely new insights into Bronze Age marriage rules and family structures in Greece. Analyses of ancient genomes show that the choice of marriage partners was determined by one's own kinship.

Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossils reveal dinosaurs of prehistoric Patagonia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. The fossils represent the first record of theropods -- a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives -- from the Chilean portion of Patagonia. The researchers' finds include giant megaraptors with large sickle-like claws and birds similar to todays ducks and geese.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Ancient Siberian genomes reveal genetic backflow from North America across the Bering Sea      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The movement of people across the Bering Sea from North Asia to North America is a well-known phenomenon in early human history. Nevertheless, the genetic makeup of the  people who lived in North Asia during this time has remained mysterious due to a limited number of ancient genomes analyzed from this region. Now, researchers describe genomes from ten individuals up to 7,500 years old that help to fill the gap and show geneflow from people moving in the opposite direction from North America to North Asia.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ethical ancient DNA research must involve descendant communities, say researchers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The analysis of ancient DNA allows scientists to trace human evolution and make important discoveries about modern populations. The data revealed by ancient DNA sampling can be valuable, but the human remains that carry this ancient DNA are often those of the ancestors of modern Indigenous groups, and some communities have expressed concerns about the ethics of sampling by outside parties. A group of scientists make the case for involvement of descendant communities in all aspects of the research process.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Origins of the building blocks of life      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study posits that interstellar cloud conditions may have played a significant role on the presence of key building blocks of life in the solar system.

Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Rodent extinctions in Hispaniola may have been caused by humans      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hispaniola once had among the highest diversity of rodents in the Caribbean. Today, only one rodent species remains, and its prospects for survival are uncertain. New carbon dates place the blame squarely on humans.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Smallpox has plagued humans since ancient Egyptian times, new evidence confirms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Smallpox was once one of humanity's most devastating diseases, but its origin is shrouded in mystery. For years, scientific estimates of when the smallpox virus first emerged have been at odds with historical records. Now, a new study reveals that the virus dates back 2,000 years further than scientists have previously shown, verifying historical sources and confirming for the first time that the disease has plagued human societies since ancient times.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Study reveals average age at conception for men versus women over past 250,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Using a new method based upon comparing DNA mutation rates between parents and offspring, evolutionary biologists have revealed the average age of mothers versus fathers over the past 250,000 years, including the discovery that the age gap is shrinking, with women's average age at conception increasing from 23.2 years to 26.4 years, on average, in the past 5,000 years.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

DNA from archaeological remains shows that immigration to Scandinavia was exceptional during the Viking period      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study based on 297 ancient Scandinavian genomes analysed together with the genomic data of 16,638 present day Scandinavians resolve the complex relations between geography, ancestry, and gene flow in Scandinavia -- encompassing the Roman Age, the Viking Age and later periods. A surprising increase of variation during the Viking period indicates that gene flow into Scandinavia was especially intense during this period.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

The other paleo diet: Rare discovery of dinosaur remains preserved with its last meal      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Microraptor was an opportunistic predator, feeding on fish, birds, lizards -- and now small mammals. The discovery of a rare fossil reveals the creature was a generalist carnivore in the ancient ecosystem of dinosaurs.

Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

What the inner ear of Europasaurus reveals about its life      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Europasaurus is a long-necked, herbivorous dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic, about 154 million years ago, on a small island in modern-day Germany. Recently, scientists examined fossil braincase material of Europasaurus with the aid of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The digital reconstruction of the inner ear of Europasaurus gave the researchers new insights not only into its hearing ability, but also into its reproductive and social behavior.

Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Early forests did not significantly change the atmospheric CO2      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered that the atmosphere contained far less CO2 than previously thought when forests emerged on our planet, the new study has important implications for understanding how land plants affect the climate.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil CSI: Giant extinct marine reptile graveyard was likely ancient birthing grounds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international research team examines a rich fossil bed in the renowned Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, where many 50-foot-long ichthyosaurs (Shonisaurus popularis) lay petrified in stone. The study offers a plausible explanation as to how at least 37 of these marine reptiles came to meet their ends in the same locality -- a question that has vexed paleontologists for more than half a century. The research presents evidence that these ichthyosaurs died at the site in large numbers because they were migrating to this area to give birth for many generations across hundreds of thousands of years.

Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Linking fossil climate proxies to living bacteria helps climate predictions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Fossilized microbial skins can give us a glimpse of how the climate was in the deep geological past. By discovering the 'missing link' between such fossil skins and the skins of living bacteria, researchers have greatly improved the accuracy of climate reconstructions and predictions.