Category: Palaeontology
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The Viking disease can be due to gene variants inherited from Neanderthals — ScienceDaily
Many men in northern Europe over the age of 60 suffer from the so-called Viking disease, which means that the fingers lock in a bent position. Now researchers at Karolinska Institutet, together with colleagues, have used data from over 7,000 affected individuals to look for genetic risk factors for the disease. The findings, which have…
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A marine origin of coal balls in the Midland and Illinois basins, USA
Raymond, A., Lambert, L. L. & Costanza, S. H. Are coal balls rare? A cyclostratigraphic analysis of coal-ball occurrence in North America. Int. J. Coal Geol. 206, 65–79 (2019). Article CAS Google Scholar Scott, A. C., Mattey, D. P. & Howard, R. New data on the formation of Carboniferous coal balls. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 93,…
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some kangaroos didn’t hop, scientists explain
Newswise — Extinct kangaroos used alternative methods to their famous hop according to comprehensive analysis from University of Bristol and the University of Uppsala scientists. Although hopping is regarded as a pinnacle of kangaroo evolution, the researchers highlight that other kinds of large kangaroos, in the not too distant past, likely moved in different ways…
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Prized dinosaur fossil returned to Brazil after controversy
This celebratory image shows Brazilian researchers and government officials gathered around a prized fossil of the dinosaur Ubirajara jubatus. The fossil, newly returned to Brazil from Germany, sparked an outcry in late 2020 after palaeontologists published a now-retracted paper1 about it. The 110-million-year-old specimen represented the first non-avian dinosaur to be found in South America…
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Some kangaroos didn’t hop — ScienceDaily
Extinct kangaroos used alternative methods to their famous hop according to comprehensive analysis from University of Bristol and the University of Uppsala scientists. Although hopping is regarded as a pinnacle of kangaroo evolution, the researchers highlight that other kinds of large kangaroos, in the not too distant past, likely moved in different ways such as…
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First side-necked turtle ever discovered in UK
Newswise — The first side-necked turtle ever to be found in the UK has been discovered by an amateur fossil collector and palaeontologists at the University of Portsmouth. The fossil remains are the earliest of a so-called side-necked pan-pleurodiran turtle, named as such because they fold their neck into their shell sideways when threatened. This…
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From fossils to mind | Communications Biology
Minsky, M. Society of Mind. (Simon and Schuster, 1988). Pfenning, A. R. et al. Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds. Science 346, 1256846 (2014). Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Burger, J. R., George, M. A., Leadbetter, C. & Shaikh, F. The allometry of brain size in mammals. J. Mammal.…
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The reptile or the egg? — ScienceDaily
The earliest reptiles, birds and mammals may have borne live young, researchers from Nanjing University and University of Bristol have revealed. Until now, the hard-shelled egg was thought to be the key to the success of the amniotes — a group of vertebrates that undergo embryonic or fetal development within an amnion, a protective membrane…
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the reptile or the egg?
Newswise — The earliest reptiles, birds and mammals may have borne live young, researchers from Nanjing University and University of Bristol have revealed. Until now, the hard-shelled egg was thought to be the key to the success of the amniotes – a group of vertebrates that undergo embryonic or foetal development within an amnion, a…
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Celebrate Jurassic Park’s birthday with new dino finds
It’s been 30 years since Jurassic Park first roared into movie theaters with its dino DNA, vicious velociraptor attacks, and the cautionary reminder that “life finds a way.” The franchise has incrementally evolved alongside increased knowledge of what dinosaurs actually looked like—namely including some dinosaur feathers in the most recent film—and even inspired one of…