Reports of proteins in fossilized bones have been a subject of controversy in the scientific literature because it is assumed that fossilization results in the destruction of all organic components.
Cretaceous
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Biosignatures: The Oldest Ant Ever Discovered Found Fossilized In Brazil
Editor’s note: we currently have three rovers on Mars – and other in orbit – searching in one way or another for biosignatures – chemical and/or geological traces that life […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Press Release
Dinosaurs’ Apparent Decline Prior To Asteroid May Be Due To A Poor Fossil Record
The idea that dinosaurs were already in decline before an asteroid wiped most of them out 66 million years ago may be explained by a worsening fossil record from that […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Prehistoric Rock In Japan Reveals Clues To A Major Ocean Anoxic Event
By studying prehistoric rocks and fossils emerging from the side of Mount Ashibetsu in Japan, researchers have precisely refined the timing and duration of Ocean Anoxic Event 1a (OAE 1a), […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Press Release
New Research Reveals How El Nino Caused The Greatest Ever Mass Extinction
Mega ocean warming El Niño events were key in driving the largest extinction of life on planet Earth some 252 million years ago, according to new research.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Carbon Dioxide Has Driven Drastic Changes In Earth’s Global Temperature Over The Past 485 Million years
A new study co-led by the Smithsonian and the University of Arizona offers the most detailed glimpse yet of how Earth’s surface temperature has changed over the past 485 million […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Cretaceous Amber Inclusions Illuminate The Evolutionary Origin Of Tardigrades
Tardigrades are a diverse phylum of microscopic invertebrates widely known for their extreme survival capabilities. Molecular clocks suggest that tardigrades diverged from other panarthropods before the Cambrian, but their fossil […]
Posted inExtinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Press Release
Ammonites’ Fate Sealed By The Meteor Impact That Wiped Out The Dinosaurs
Ammonites were not in decline before their extinction, scientists have found.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Cryobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Icy Worlds, Press Release
Global Deep Freeze Periods During Snowball Earth Events
A Yale-led research team has picked a side in the “Snowball Earth” debate over the possible cause of planet-wide deep freeze events that occurred in the distant past.
Posted inAstrogeology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Impact events, Plant Biology, Press Release
A Fossil Fruit Shows Ancestors Of Coffee And Potatoes Survived The Cretaceous Extinction
The discovery of an 80-million-year-old fossil plant pushes back the known origins of lamiids to the Cretaceous, extending the record of nearly 40,000 species of flowering plants including modern-day staple […]