Fossils of Miyashita from 147 million years ago found in the UK

Posted on March 23, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists discovered and described the new ctenochasmatid pterosaurian mandible from the late Jurassic Portland limestone formations in southern England.

Reconstruction of the life of ctenochasmatid pterosaur Gladocephaloideus jingangshanensis. Image credit: Zhao Chuang.

“In the Upper Jurassic Formation of England, poverty is rare and consists primarily of isolated bones and bone fragments,” said Roy Smith and David Martill, paleontologists at Portsmouth.

“Many records of the late Jurassic Palace in England are merely historical interests, and now contain species named. Nomina Dubeer. ”

“Nevertheless, some materials are diagnostic and some species stand the test of time.”

“Most of the Upper Jurassic palaces in England come from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in southern England, with events from the Oxford portion of Oxford clay formation in southern and eastern England, and one event from the Kinmeridge Clay Formation in Scotland.”

“In spite of this lack of material, there was a near-complete skull with some of the associated materials. Cuspicephalus scarfi In areas of the Kimmeridgian stage type. ”

The new Pterosaurus specimen is the mandible with at least two, perhaps three teeth.

The fossils date back to the Titonian period, in the late Jurassic period, about 147 million years ago.

It represents the youngest geologically in the UK Jurassic palace.

“The specimen is an isolated mandible that lacks most of the post-Simfisil section of the lam,” the paleontologist said.

“Because of the mandible, which is very thin and compact and elongated, it has been identified as Pterosaurus.”

New specimens found in Portland Limestone Formations in Dorset, southern England.

This represents the first pterocortic material documented, described and proposed from this layer.

“The specimens are likely first discovered when the stones were divided using a standard “feather and wedge” procedure,” the researchers said.

“This caused damage to the central part of the specimen, but the jaw split along its length also damaged the specimen. It appears that the counterpart has not been recovered.”

The lack of diagnostic function prevents introduction to known or new species of fossils, but it can be confidently assigned to the Pterosaur clade Ctenochasmatoidea.

“The ctenochasmatoids are a diverse group of pterosaurs with prominent, most genus, as they are prominent in long, sometimes dorsal curved jaws and elongated, thin teeth,” the scientist said.

“It’s true, one form, South America Pterodaustrois in the longest teeth in terms of the diameter length ratio of the tetrapod. ”

“Basal anthelminthus bacterium” Pterodactylus antiquus and ctenochasmatoid Ardeadactylus longicolumBoth have short conical teeth with wider alveolar spacing than the Titonian period. ”

“The elongated, thin mandible bone and numerous closely spaced alveoli suggest that it is a member of Ctenochasmatidae.”

“The faint central ridge of the occlusal surface between the two grooves converges to the anterior groove, and the lack of a distinct anterior chamber suggests that the specimen is part of the mandibular intermembranes.”

“This is the first documented record of the wing glands from the Portland group in England.”

Survey results It was released this month Proceedings of the Geologists Association.

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Roy E. Smith and David M. Martill. ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Portland Limestone Formation (Late Jurassic, Titonian) in southern England. Proceedings of the Geologists Associationpublished online 20255l doi: 10.1016/j.pgeola.2025.101100

Source: www.sci.news

First Data Drop from Euclidean Space Telescope Reveals 26 Million Galaxies

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Galactic sea photographed by the Euclidean Space Telescope

ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, J.-C. Image processing by Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi

The extraordinary image from the Euclidean Space Telescope has acquired 26 million galaxies.

Euclid was launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in July 2023, and in November of that year it sent its first image back. The six-year mission will image about a third of the sky and build the most detailed 3D map of Cosmos ever created. Once completed, this investigation will help to lighten how dark matter and dark energy behave on a cosmic scale.

ESA is currently being released The first large data on this missionstarts with three “deep fields.” This is an area where the telescope becomes a more detailed peer than the rest of the study area. These three spots represent 63 squares of sky, which corresponds to an area where the full moon is covered 300 times. Over the next few years, Euclide will pass these regions 30-52 times to build more detailed images.

It'll be Percival The University of Waterloo in Canada says that current batches of images are less than 50% of what gather on missions, but there is already plenty of researchers to collaborate. “There's so much you can do about many individual galaxies and their properties because it's not something that's done in space-based research with nearby infrared light or optics like this,” he says. “It's not exactly the same quality as HST [the Hubble Space Telescope]but it's so close that it doesn't just point to individual objects and shoot. We are conducting an investigation. ”

Researchers have already used Euclidean data to find hundreds of powerful gravity lenses. These phenomena are formed when the gravity of an object in the foreground distorts light from a distant galaxy, creating an arc shape or a complete ring. Previously, scientists had to hunt these individually, point them to the HST, and collect more images. Currently, astronomers can search for survey data from Euclidean and find more at once. This helps to gather insights into the evolution of galaxies and the universe.

Using AI models, researchers were able to find and catalog 500 galaxies with powerful gravity lenses with this first data alone, doubling the total seen to date. “The statistics are incredible,” Percival says. “Euclidean ultimately gets this amount of data 200 times.”

The data released so far represents only one week of images from Euclidean, but up to 35 terabytes. This is equivalent to 200 days of high quality video streaming. The next batch of data is expected to be released later next year, and will be a year's worth of images covering 2,000 square degrees and over 2,000 terabytes of storage space.

It can take over 100 years to view each galaxy manually, so AI is used to dramatically speed up the process, he says. Mike Walmsley At the University of Toronto. “We can ask new questions in weeks, not years, but in weeks,” he says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Google settles $28 million lawsuit for allegedly favoring white and Asian employees

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Google has agreed to pay $28 million (£22 million) to settle class action lawsuits by compensating white and Asian employees more and providing them with a higher career track compared to other employees.

The settlement with Alphabet’s Google was preliminarily approved by Judge Charles Adams of Santa Clara County Superior Court in California last week.

Judge Adams described it as “a positive outcome for the class” consisting of at least 6,632 Google employees in California from February 15, 2018 to December 31, 2024.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the settlement, stating, “We refute the allegations of differential treatment and are committed to compensating, hiring, and promoting all our employees fairly.”

The lawsuit was spearheaded by Ana Cantu, who identifies as Mexican and indigenous, on behalf of minority employees at Google from Hispanic, Latino, Indigenous, Native American, and other backgrounds.

Cantu claimed that despite performing exemplary work in Google’s People’s Business and Cloud sector for seven years, she was not compensated or promoted on par with her white and Asian counterparts.

She alleged that Google favored white and Asian employees, placing them in higher “levels” within the company even when performing similar roles as minority employees.

Cantu argued that Google’s actions violated California’s Equal Pay Act, and she left the company in September 2021.

The final settlement amount will be $20 million after deducting legal costs, penalties related to Cantu’s claims under California’s General Civil Attorneys Act, and other expenses totaling $7 million.

Judge Adams has scheduled a hearing in September to review and approve the final settlement. Cantu’s legal representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ancient hominins discovered in Spain with facial bones dating back 1.1 million years

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Who were the first inhabitants of Western Europe, what their physical characteristics were, and where they lived are some of the pending questions in the study of Eurasian settlements during the early Pleistocene epoch. Information on ancient humanity available from Western Europe is limited and limited to the Iberian Peninsula. Now, paleontologists have discovered a fragment of the midface of humanity at the site of the Sima del Elephante in Sierra de Atapuerc, Spain. Fossils, which were 1.4 million to 1.1 million years ago, represent the earliest human faces of Western Europe ever identified.

Archaeological excavations at the Sima del Elephante in Sierra de Atapuerc, Spain. Image credits: Maria D. Guillen/Iphes-Cerca.

“It is suggested that Eurasia was first settled by Hymonin at least 1.8 million years ago,” he said, institut Catetut Catetut Catetut Catetut de Paleoecologia Humana IEvolucióSocial, Rovira I Virgili, and Museo nacional de Ciencias natures, and colleagues

“Evidence of early human settlements in Western Europe is limited to highly fragmented fossil samples from the Iberian Peninsula, with few clues as to the appearance and classification of these human beings.”

“The fossils from the Spanish site, about 850,000 years ago, are Homo Alivisora species of early people with thin midfaces that resemble modern humans. ”

“In 2007, a Hominin Joborne (ATE9-1) was found at the Simadel Elephante site in northern Spain, between 12 and 1.1 million years ago, but it was not a definitive allocation. Homo Alivisor. ”

In the new study, the authors examined the fossil ruins of Hominin Midface from the Sima Del Elefante site.

The fragment labeled ATE7-1 consists of a substantial portion of the maxilla and zygote bone from the left side of an adult.

Using both physical evidence and 3D imaging techniques, the researchers reconstructed the fossil fragments, estimated to be between 1.4 million and 1.1 million.

They also discovered additional archaeological sites: stone tools and ruins of slaughtered animals.

“These practices demonstrate that the first Europeans had a close understanding of available animal resources and knew how to systematically utilize them,” Dr. Huguett said.

According to scientists, the ATE7-1 fossil does not display the “modern” midface features found in Homo Alivisor Fossils, but there are some similarities Homo Erectus system.

They tentatively allocated fossils Homo aff. Erectusshows affinity for Homo Erectuswithholding further evidence.

This finding may suggest that at least two people live in Western Europe Homo Early Pleistocene species: Homo aff. Erectusand later Homo Alivisor.

“The evidence is why it was assigned to the ''because it is still insufficient for a definitive classification. Homo aff. Erectus“Dr. Maria Martinon Torres, a researcher at the Centro Nacional de Investigation, said he is a researcher at Evolcion Humana in London and University College London.

“This designation recognizes the affinity of ATE7-1 Homo Erectus While it leaves the possibility that it belongs to another species open. ”

“Our findings demonstrate at least two different human invasions of Western Europe during the Pleistocene era, providing fascinating insights into the evolution of the genus. Homo. ”

“While their size is small, pioneering analysis of facial fragments greatly enriched our understanding of the origins and dynamics of the earliest Europeans on the continent.”

“More research and fossil samples are needed to investigate the relationships between these populations and further improve their classification,” the researchers concluded.

Their paper It was published in the journal this month Nature.

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R. Huguett et al. The oldest human face in Western Europe. NaturePublished online on March 12, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08681-0

Source: www.sci.news

Three newly discovered dinosaur footprints in Australia dating back 200 million years

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have studied and described three surfaces, including previously unknown dinosaur tracks, from an area near Biloella in Queensland, Australia.

Surface containing dinosaur tracks from the sandstone Duncreek mine area in the Kalido Basin, Queensland, Australia. Image credits: Romilio et al. , doi: 10.1080/08912963.2025.2472153.

University of Queensland researcher Dr. Anthony Romilio and his colleagues discovered footprints of early Jurassic dinosaurs preserved in three separate rocks in the Kalido Basin.

“One of the surfaces contains a single track, the other has a single trackway consisting of two tracks, and the third has a large concentration of 66 footprints,” they said.

“This is the highest concentration known from the area, with a density of 71 tracks per metre.²and only to specimens of the same age from the Carnarvon Valley, the second highest in Australia. ”

Each footprint has three toes, indicating that it belongs to the dinosaur Ichnospecy anomoepus scambus.

“The Ichnospecies, also discovered at the early Jurassic track sites in Carnarvon Valley and Mount Morgan, shows the prevalence of Ornishikian dinosaurs throughout the region,” the researchers said.

Small filled circular traces, possibly invertebrate burrows Scoritusthe surface is rich and, if correct, indicates that the tracks were formed under sub-light blue to medium energy conditions.

ICHNOSPECIES' Ornithischian Track Maker anomoepus scambus. Image credit: University of Queensland.

“The footprint comes from 47 individual dinosaurs that have passed through patches of wet white clay, and they probably walked or crossed the waterways,” Dr. Romilio said.

“These dinosaurs were small, with legs ranging from 15-50 cm long, and when they left these marks they were moving below 6 km/h.”

“Evidence from skeletal fossils abroad says that dinosaurs with legs like these were herbivores that had long legs, thick bodies, short arms and small heads with beaks.”

Scientists say the newly discovered footprint is about 200 million years old (early Jurassic epoch).

“These footprints provide valuable insight into the abundance and behavior of dinosaurs in an age where body fossils are not present in Australia,” they said.

Their paper It was published in the journal on March 10th, 2025 Historical Biology.

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Anthony Romillio et al. Dinosaur footprints from sandstones in the Lower Jurassic (Hetangian-Cinemurian), the Kalido Basin, Queensland, Australia. Historical BiologyPublished online on March 10th, 2025. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2472153

Source: www.sci.news

NASA’s Spherex set to launch after delays, will map 450 million galaxies on mission

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The new NASA Observatory was launched into space on Tuesday with a mission that would help scientists unravel what happened in the first fraction one second after the Big Bang.

The Spherex mission (short for Universe History, Reionization Epoch, Ice Explorer’s Spectroscopic Optical Meter) is designed to map the entire sky, study millions of galaxies, and stitch together how the universe has formed and evolved.

According to NASA, it has been postponed several times since late February to help engineers evaluate the rocket and its components recently due to bad weather at launch sites.

The cone-shaped spacecraft ended Tuesday at approximately 8:10pm above the Space Sex Falcon 9 rocket from Van Denburg Space Force Base in California. Also, to get into orbit there were four suitcase-sized satellites deployed on another mission by NASA to study the sun.

The $488 million Spherex Observatory will investigate the entire sky four times over a two-year mission. Spacecraft instruments observe the universe in 102 different colors or wavelengths.

The Spherex Observatory, located horizontally, allows you to see all three layers of photon shields and telescopes.
BAE System / NASA

Colors in the infrared range have longer wavelengths than what the eye sees, so they are essentially invisible to humans. However, in the universe, infrared light from stars, galaxies and other celestial bodies contains important information about composition, density, temperature and chemical composition.

A technique known as spectroscopy allows scientists to analyze infrared light and divide it into different colors, just like the way prisms divide sunlight into colorful rainbows. Therefore, data collected by the Spherex Observatory gives researchers insight into the chemistry and other properties of hundreds of millions of galaxies in the universe.

NASA said these observations would help scientists study how galaxies are formed, trace the origins of Milky Way waters, and connect what happened later. The Big Bang that Created the Universe Approximately 13.8 billion years ago.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Water was present in the early universe 100-200 million years following the Big Bang

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

It is explained in the paper published today journal Natural Astronomy the discovery means that habitable deplanets may have begun to form much earlier, before they were formed billions of years ago.

This artist's impression shows the evolution of the universe, beginning with the Big Bang on the left. After that, you will see the microwave background of the universe. The formation of the first stars ends the dark ages of the universe, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss/Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

“We had no oxygen before the first star exploded, so there was no water in space,” said Daniel Warren, an astronomer at the University of Portsmouth.

“Only a very simple nucleus survived the Big Bang: hydrogen, helium, lithium, trace amounts of barium and boron.”

According to Dr. Whalen and his colleagues, water molecules began to form shortly after the first supernova explosion known as the Population III Supernova.

These cosmic events that occurred on first generation stars were essential to creating the heavy elements (such as oxygen) needed for water to exist.

“The oxygen forged in the hearts of these supernovas combines with hydrogen to form water, paving the way for the creation of the essential elements needed for life,” Dr. Whalen said.

In their study, researchers looked at two types of supernovae. This produces corecrolaps supernovae, which produces a modest amount of heavy elements, and more energetic POP III supernovae.

They discovered that both types of supernovae form dense masses of rich gas in water.

The overall amount of water produced by these early supernovae was modest, but was highly concentrated in a gas-dense area called the cloud core, which is thought to be the birthplace of stars and planets.

These early, water-rich regions may have sown planetary formations at the dawn of space long before the first galaxy took shape.

“A significant discovery is that the primitive supernova formed water in the universe ahead of the first galaxy,” Dr. Hualen said.

“So water was already an important component of the first galaxy.”

“This means that the conditions necessary for the formation of life were in place faster than we could have imagined, meaning it was an important step in our early understanding of the universe.”

“The total water mass was modest, but it was very concentrated on the only structures that could form stars and planets.”

“And that suggests that before the first galaxy, a water-rich planetary disc could form at the dawn of space.”

Source: www.sci.news

Chinese researchers have uncovered 125 million Scorpion fossils

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists describe new genus and species of extinct scorpions from the early Cretaceous Ixia Formation in China.

Jeholia Longkengi It is China's first Mesozoic scorpion. Image credit: Jie Sun/Xuan et al. , doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2025.01.035.

It has been named Jeholia LongkengiThe new species lived around 125 million years ago (early Cretaceous period).

The fossilized scorpion ruins are Yixian Layer In the village of Heishangou in Chifen City, Nei Mongolia, China.

“Scorpions belong to the Arachnida class within the arthropod and have a relatively small number of fossil records,” said Dr. Qiang Xuan, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Paleontology and a researcher of excellence for the excellence of life and paleoenvironment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“Early scorpions came from the Midsilurian era, and at least some of them are interpreted as transient forms from sea to land.”

“Even though they are among the early terrestrial arthropods, fossils and living scorpions retain mostly conservative body plans.”

“Mesozoic scorpions are primarily from the Burmese system in the Middle Cretaceous, but compressed scorpion fossils that usually accumulate in the hierarchy are relatively rare, except for late Triassic Cuper sandstone formation in England and late Cretaceous Krato formation in Brazil.”

“Three fossil scorpions, including the Miocene scorpion, have been reported from China Sinoscorpius Shandongensis From Devonian Scorpion, County Chandon Hubeiscorpio gracilitarsis From Hubei Province and Permian Scorpion Eoscorpius sp. From Uda, Nei Mongol. ”

Jeholia Longkengi He was a member of the early Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem known as Jehoru Biotait is internationally renowned for the discovery of exceptional fossils, including feathered dinosaurs, early birds, diverse mammals, pterosaurs, and several arthropod fossils.

“The Jehol Biota is one of the most important and prolific fossil sites for studying early Cretaceous life,” the paleontologist said.

“No previous fossil scorpions have been recorded despite many fossil species being reported.”

The full length of Jeholia Longkengi It was about 10 cm (4 inches). It is larger than other Mesozoic scorpions and considerably larger than many living scorpions.

“Jeholia Longkengi They may feed primarily a variety of insects, including herbivorous, omnivorous, corrosive, fungal and predatory species that are common in gel biotas, and perhaps spiders, frogs, small salamanders, lizards and mammals,” the researchers said.

“We recommend that potential natural enemies of this Cretaceous scorpion include dinosaurs, birds and mammals, according to previously reported Jehol Biota food web model.”

“However, there is no fossil record for the oral sector, so speculation about their feeding habits is in the preliminary stage.”

“Middle centrality is a metric that quantifies the importance of a node in connecting other nodes in the network,” they added.

“It plays a pivotal role in assessing the extent to which a node acts as a bridge and linking other nodes in the network.”

“In Jehor's Biota Food Network, large scorpions exhibit the highest intermediate centrality of all guilds, highlighting the possibility that fossil scorpions had extensive ecological interactions with other species of early terrestrial ecosystems.”

“Our findings contribute to new insights into the complexity of Yel Biota's food web,” they concluded.

Team's paper Published in the journal Science news.

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Qiang Xuan et al. The first Mesozoic scorpion from China and its ecological meaning. Science newsPublished online on January 24th, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2025.01.035

Source: www.sci.news

Ancient Bone Tool Unearthed in Tanzania Dates Back 1.5 Million Years

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have documented a collection of bone tools from one horizon, 1.5 million years ago, in Tanzania’s All-Bai Valley. These bone tools preceded more than a million years ago other evidence of systematic bone tool production, shedding new light on the almost unknown world of early human bone technology.

The elephant’s humerus, which was 1.5 million years ago, has soaked into the tool. Image credit: CSIC.

Early humans had already made stone tools with some capacity for at least a million years, but there was little evidence of widespread adoption from bones about 500,000 years ago.

Humanity, who shaped the newly discovered bone tools, did it in the same way they created stone tools by shaving small flakes and creating sharp edges.

The transfer of this technology from one medium to another shows that the human race who made bone tools had a high understanding of tool creation, and that they can adapt their technology to different materials, important intellectual leaps.

It could be that human ancestors at the time had higher levels of cognitive skills and brain development than scientists thought.

“The discovery envisages that early humans will greatly expand their technical options, previously limited to stone tools production, and now allow new raw materials to be incorporated into a repertoire of potential artifacts.”

“At the same time, this expansion of technological potential demonstrates the advances in the cognitive and mental structures of these humans, who knew how to incorporate innovation by adapting knowledge of stone work to manipulation of bones.”

“The tool provides evidence that their creators work carefully on the bones, shatter the flakes and create useful shapes,” says Dr. Renata Peters, a researcher at the University of London.

“We were excited to find these bone tools from these early time frames.”

“It means that human ancestors were able to transfer skills from stones to bones, a level of complex cognition that we have not seen elsewhere in a million years.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipecfzkuytc

The 1.5 million-year-old bone tool was discovered at the T69 complex site in Friedalie Ki Collongo West Gully in the All-By Valley in northern Tanzania.

The research authors discovered a collection of 27 bones shaped into the site’s tools. The bones mostly came from large mammals, mostly elephants and hippopotamus.

The tool is made only from the bones of the animal’s limbs. These are because they are the most dense and strong.

Very early stone tools have come from the All Old One era, which grew from about 2.7 million to 1.5 million years ago. It employs a simple method of making stone tools by shaving one or several flakes from the stone core using hammer stones.

The bone tool reported in the current study was a time when ancient human ancestors began in the Akeirian era, when they began around 1.7 million years ago.

Acheulean technology is best characterized by using more complex hand axes carefully shaped by napping.

Bone tools show that these more advanced techniques have been carried over and adopted for use in bone.

Prior to this discovery, bones shaped into tools were only sporadically identified in rare and isolated cases of the fossil record, not a way to imply that human ancestors systematically produced them.

Due to the overall shape, size and sharp edges, exactly what the tool was used is unknown, but it may have been used to deal with animal corpses in food.

It is also unknown that human ancestor species created the tool.

Alongside the collection of bone artifacts, no relics of humanity were found, but they are known at the time, Homo Erectus and Paranthropus Boisei He was a resident of this area.

“These tools were such an unexpected discovery, so we hope that our findings will encourage archaeologists to reconsider bone discoveries around the world in case other evidence of bone tools is missed,” the researchers said.

Their paper Today I’ll be appearing in the journal Nature.

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I. de la Torr et al. Systematic bone tool production 1.5 million years ago. NaturePublished online on March 5th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08652-5

Source: www.sci.news

Ancient Humans Crafted Tools from Animal Bones 1.5 Million Years Ago

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Washington – Early Man utilized animal bones to create cutting tools 1.5 million years ago on a regular basis.

A recent discovery of 27 sculptures and sharp bones from elephants and hippos in Tanzania’s All-Bai Valley site has extended the timeline for the use of ancient bones by around a million years. Researchers already knew that early individuals crafted simple tools from stones as long ago as 3.3 million years.

New discoveries of ancient humans published in Nature on Wednesday have shown that they had a more sophisticated toolkit, incorporating various materials, according to William Harcourt Smith, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History. He was not involved in the study.

A well-preserved bone tool measuring up to 16 inches (40 cm) may have been created by fracturing the bulky ends of leg bones and chipping off the flakes from the remaining bone shaft using stones. Research co-author Ignacio de la Torre, a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council, explained that this technique was used to produce one sharp edge and one tip.

The bone tools were likely used as hand axes, handheld blades not attached to a handle, for the purpose of butchering animal carcasses.

These blades were ideal for removing flesh from elephant and hippo carcasses but were not utilized as spears or projectiles. “I don’t believe they were hunting these animals. They were likely scavenging,” he stated.

Numerous artifacts exhibit signs of being struck in order to remove more than dozens of flakes, indicating a sustained level of craftsmanship.

The consistent choice of bones – specifically large, heavy leg bones from a particular animal – and a pattern of uniform modifications suggest that early humans deliberately selected and crafted these bones, as noted by paleobiologist Milia Pacheco from the Federal University of San Carlos in Brazil, who was not part of the study.

The bones show minimal signs of erosion, trampling, or gnawing by other animals, ruling out the possibility of natural factors shaping the tools.

These bone tools date back over a million years, predating the emergence of our species, Homo Sapiens, by approximately 300,000 years.

According to Brianna Poviner, a paleontologist with the Smithsonian Human Origins program, when the tools were created, three types of human ancestors coexisted in the same East African region.

This tool could have been created and used by Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis, or Paranthropus Boisei. “It could have been any of these three, but it’s nearly impossible to determine which one,” Poviner mentioned.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

NASA launches a space observatory to map 450 million galaxies

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The new NASA Space Observatory is set to launch into orbit on Thursday with a crucial mission to map over 450 million galaxies.

The Spherex mission, short for the spectrophoton meter of space history, reionization epoch, and Ice Explorer history, will map the entire sky four times over two years, giving scientists the chance to study galaxy formation and uncover insights into the universe’s evolution.

“That’s going to answer the fundamental question: how did we get here?” Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA headquarters, stated in a recent news briefing.

Spherex is scheduled to be launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:09 pm on Thursday.

The cone-shaped spacecraft will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket along with four suitcase-sized satellites deployed simultaneously for another NASA mission to study the sun.

A spacecraft preliminary design that includes a hexagonal solar shield to help keep your instrument cool.
NASA / JPL-Caltech

The $488 million Spherex mission has been in development for approximately 10 years. According to NASA, it aims to map objects using 102 infrared colors and light.

Infrared technology allows scientists to see through dust and gas, observing some of the oldest stars and galaxies in the universe. By utilizing spectroscopy, scientists can analyze the composition, density, temperature, and movement of celestial objects.

The Spherex Observatory employs spectrometers to explore the sky in three dimensions and study hundreds of millions of galaxies’ properties, as stated by Jamie Bock, a lead investigator at the Spherex mission and a physics professor at the California Institute of Technology.

Bock mentioned that these observations could provide insights into galaxy formation and allow researchers to examine the origins of water and other organic materials in the Milky Way galaxy.

“When you dissect light, you can determine the galaxy’s distance, construct a three-dimensional map, and identify the water fingerprint,” Bock explained.

Unraveling the origins of water can enhance scientific understanding of life’s evolution on Earth and possibly reveal clues about vital life components elsewhere in the galaxy.

“This new capability can lead to discoveries or surprises,” Bock added.

By mapping the celestial sky, the Spherex mission addresses one of astronomy’s enduring mysteries: The Big Bang that Created the Universe approximately 13.8 billion years ago.

One theory proposed in the late 1970s and early 1980s suggests the universe experienced a staggering trillion-fold expansion in the first fraction of a second post-big bang. Known as cosmic inflation, this theory aims to explain the universe’s curved geometry, structure formation, and rapid expansion.

However, astronomers have grappled with connecting the driving force behind this cosmic inflation and why it occurred. By meticulously mapping hundreds of millions of galaxies, the Spherex mission can test theories in new ways, aiding scientists in refining the physics underlying the universe’s inflation and rapid expansion.

“What Spherex does is test specific inflation models by tracking hundreds of millions of galaxies in three dimensions,” Brock noted.

Domagal-Goldman expressed that the Spherex Mission’s exploration of galaxies, cosmic inflation, and the universe’s origins could deepen human comprehension of basic physics.

“We are fortunate to live in an era where we can uncover answers about the universe’s long narrative of human existence on this planet,” he remarked.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

48 million years ago, Palm fossils in subwestern Canada suggest a winter without ice

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Tribal palm trees Trachycarpeae Fossilization analysis shows that it once flourished in Axiang Canada Phytris – Microscopic siliceous structures produced in specific tissues in many plant families – from the territory of the northwestern Canada.

Palm plant stones from the Eocene Giraffe Region (AQ) and modern plant stones extracted from Coryphoid Palm leaves Trachycarpus Fortunei. Image credit: Siver et al. , doi: 10.1093/aob/mcaf021.

“The palm is a monocot flowering plant of the Arecaceae family distributed primarily to tropical and subtropical regions around the world,” the University of Connecticut said. Professor Peter Siver And his colleague.

“It's a large family, with a particularly high variety of species, especially in Central and South America and Southeast Asia.”

“In general, the palms thrive in warm, wet conditions, so the majority of the species are found in rainforests.”

“There are significantly fewer species found in both Southern Europe and the southern regions of the United States, and families are completely lacking in more north latitudes.”

“In the southeastern US subtropical area, the palm is largely restricted to state coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico, and some inland along the Atlantic coast that stretches north along Florida. It's growing to Tennessee.”

“The majority of the palms are found in climates marked with both high average annual temperatures and high average annual rainfall, but several species can be found under cool, dry conditions.”

Professor Siver and co-authors discovered fossilized plant matter from a tree in Trachycarpeae in ancient lakebed sediments extracted from the area of the Giraffin Balite Pipe in Canada's northwest territory.

Four aquatic organisms, largely restricted to today's warm subtropical and tropical regions, were also found in the same sediments.

These 48 million years ago (early Eocene) fossils exhibit much warmer climates than previously thought, challenging the challenge of ice that first formed in the Northern Hemisphere.

“This discovery of palm fossils in the north provides clear evidence that the Arctic Circle was once iceless and has a climate similar to today's subtropical climate,” Professor Shiver said.

“These findings provide a window into past greenhouse conditions and help refine models to predict future climate change.”

In addition to confirming records of the northernmost palms during this period, the authors established that this evolutionary characteristic appeared in the early Eocene: linear arrays of plant matter in palm leaves., Fossilized Stegmata – Fossilized Stegmata were also recorded.

The presence of multiple warm, adaptive aquatic species further strengthens the support of this prehistoric Arctic region's lush, temperate ecosystem.

“Our research contributes to a broader understanding of the extent and timing of ice formation in the Earth's climate history, particularly during the Cenozoic era,” the researchers said.

“Restructuring these past environments will give scientists valuable insight into how ecosystems respond to long-term climate change.”

Survey results It will be displayed in the journal The Anniversary of Botany.

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Peter A. Shiver et al. Palmphytris in sub-Western Canada means ice-free winter in the late Eocene period 48 million years ago. The Anniversary of BotanyPublished online on February 10th, 2025. doi:10.1093/aob/mcaf021

Source: www.sci.news

Ionizing radiation from nearby supernovae impacted the evolution of the virus 2.5 million years ago

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

This supernova event may have occurred at the Upper Centaurus Lupus Society. This is a group of giant stars about 457 light years away from Earth.

Illustration of an exoplanet like Earth after X-ray radiation exposure. Image credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss.

Life on Earth is constantly evolving under continuous exposure to ionizing radiation from both terrestrial and cosmic origins.

The radioactivity in the bedrock gradually decreases over timescales of billions of years, but the level of cosmic radiation fluctuates as the solar system moves through the Milky Way.

Nearby supernova activity could increase the level of radiation on the Earth’s surface by several orders of magnitude, which is expected to have a major impact on the evolution of life.

In particular, radiation levels improve as the solar system passes near a large group of stars known as the OB Association.

The winds associated with these large star factories are expected to inflate the super bubbles of high temperature plasma first. This could be the birthplace of most of the Core Collapse explosions taking place within the AB Association.

The solar system entered such a super bubble, commonly known as the local bubble, about 6 million years ago, and is now close to its centre.

“The Earth entered the local bubble and passed its stardust-rich appearance about 6.5 million years ago, sowing the planet with old iron 60, the radioactive iron of iron produced by the exploding stars. did it,” astronomer Santa Cruz, and colleagues at the University of California.

“Then, 20-3 million years ago, one of our neighboring stars exploded with incredible force, providing another cohort of radioactive iron to the planet.”

When Nojiri and her co-authors simulated what the supernova looked like, they discovered that it hammered the Earth with cosmic rays for 100,000 years of explosion.

This model perfectly described previously recorded spikes of radiation that shocked the Earth around that time.

“We’ve seen from other papers that radiation can damage DNA,” Nojiri said.

“It could be an evolutionary change in the cell or an accelerated mutation.”

Meanwhile, the author came across research into viral diversity in one of the Rift Valley Lakes in Africa.

“I can’t say they’re connected, but there are similar time frames,” Nojiri said.

“We found it interesting that the virus’s diversification is increasing.”

study It was published in Astrophysics Journal Letter.

____

Caitlyn Nojiri et al. 2025. Bubble Life: How nearby supernova left short-lived marks on the cosmic ray spectrum, leaving an indelible trace of life. apjl 979, L18; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ADA27A

Source: www.sci.news

The Terrifying Hyena-Like Creature Roamed Africa 30 Million Years Ago.

Posted on February 18, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists at American universities in Cairo and elsewhere say they found the almost perfect skull of Hyaenodont Bust Don Siltos in the lower part of the Ebel Catrani Formation in Egypt.

Bust Don Siltos. Image credit: Ahmad Morsi.

Bust Don Siltos lived in Egypt’s lush forests around 30 million years ago during the Oligocene era. Egypt is now home to the desert.

It is also known as Pterodon syrtos, the ancient species had the weight of hyenas or leopards (27 kg).

The animal had sharp teeth and strong jaw muscles, suggesting a strong bite.

It had a highly carnivorous diet that likely preyed on primates, early hippos, early elephants, and other large mammals.

“Bust Don Siltos belongs to a species of extinct group of carnivorous mammals known as hyaenodonts,” Dr. Shoruk al Ashkar, a paleontologist at Mansora University, American University in Cairo and colleagues, said.

“Hyenodons evolved before modern carnivorous animals such as cats, dogs and hyenas.”

“After the extinction of dinosaurs, these predators with hyena-like teeth hunted in African ecosystems.”

The skull of Bust Don Siltos was excavated in the Jebel Catlany Formation in the Faium depression.

“For several days, our team excavated a densely packed layer of rock dating back about 30 million years,” said Dr. Al Ashkar.

“As we were about to wrap up, our team members found something amazing. A large set of teeth sticking out from the ground.”

“His excited cry united the team and marked the beginning of an extraordinary discovery. The almost complete skull of an ancient apex carnivorous animal – a dream for a vertebrate paleontologist.”

“Faium is one of Africa’s most important fossil regions,” added Dr. Matt Bose, fossil curator at the Duke University Museum of Natural History.

“Without it, we would know little about the origins of African ecosystems and the evolution of African mammals like elephants, primates, and hyenodon.”

“Discovering Bustodon is an important achievement in understanding the diversity and evolution of Hyaenodonts and its global distribution,” said Dr. Al-Ashqar.

“We want to continue our research to unravel the complex relationships between these ancient predators and their environments across time and the continent.”

In their study, the authors also reevaluated a group of lion-sized hyanodons discovered in the rocks of Faium over 120 years ago.

They established a new genus of hyaenodont, sekhmetops, and reanalyzed materials from 33.8 million years ago.

They demonstrated that both Bustodon and sekhmetops actually belonged to the Hyaenodont group, which originated in Africa.

“Relatives of Bustodon and sekhmetops spread across multiple waves from Africa and eventually reached Asia, Europe, India, and North America,” they said.

“18 million years ago, some relatives of these Hyaenodonts were among the largest mammalian meat eaters to walk the planet.”

“However, radical changes in Africa’s global climate and geological shifts opened the continent to modern cats, dogs, and hyena ancestors.”

“As the environment and prey changed, the specialized and carnivorous hyaenodonts became less diverse and eventually became extinct, bringing primate relatives face to face with new adversaries.”

Survey results will be published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

____

Shorouq F. al-ashqar et al. Cranial anatomy of hypercarnivore Bust Don Siltos Gen. November. (hyaenodonta, hyainailourinae) and reevaluation of Pterodon in Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Published online on February 16th, 2025. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2442472

Source: www.sci.news

Musk-Linked Group Donates $5 Million to Investigate Voter Fraud, Finds Nothing | US Election Integrity

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In May 2024, a Fantastic ads Going viral on social media, “There are real cases of fraud and abuse across the country. [election] “The system that erodes our trust.” advertisement The “whistleblower” who shared evidence of election fraud has vowed that he will “reward on payments from the $5 million fund.”

This reward was courtesy of the group that had just been announced. Fair Election Funddocumented documents show that there is a deep connection to Elon Musk’s political network.

The fair election fund “emphasis on these cases” to share their stories with “a large portion of the group’s budget is dedicated to whistleblower payments” and “affective pay and earned.” We have pledged to launch a “media campaign.”

It followed after that Another ad It was run in swing states during the Olympics, telling viewers to share evidence of election fraud, saying, “You might qualify for compensation.”

Despite the group’s high-profile, deep pocket supporters and favorable bounty offers, no evidence of voters or election fraud was revealed. Instead, the group incorporates a series of unrelated detours into tangential areas like third-party voting access, and efforts to reveal fraud have concluded that many research, court decisions, and bipartisan investigations have concluded. I’ve reaffirmed that I’m there. Voter fraud is extremely rare.

Lack of evidence has not stopped Republicans in Congress or in state legislatures We continue to promote restrictive voting methods It is intended to address this phantom threat. Meanwhile, Musk argues that “fraud” justifies his efforts to cut government operations; Similarly, it does not reveal much evidence.

The Fair Election Fund is now radio silent. SiteMap data shows that the website has not been updated since October and that the group’s X/Twitter account has not been posted since November. Group’s SpokesmanFormer national team member Doug Collins has appeared. Trump’s Veterans Secretaryand still is Leading the government’s ethics bureau.

Close relationship with the world’s wealthiest man

The Fair Election Fund is the fictitious name of another 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, and the documented documentation is revealed and operated within a network run by Musk’s top political advisors. You can do it. The group received funds from the same dark money vehicle that Musk used to guide his political spending, and also routed the funds to another musk-backed nonprofit.

The group is now housed in a nonprofit organization called the Interstate, and previously known as the fund. It was formed on January 3, 2023, a nonprofit organization. We raised $8,226,000 from a single donation in 2023.

The group is led by Victoria “Tori” Sax. And to the RepublicThe group was also formed in January 2023. support Includes Desantis funding, including Presidential bid for Ron Desantis Private Jet and Host a semi-campaign event.

The naming of two sax-led groups, and naming them for the Republic and it’s for funding – and the timing of their creation in January 2023 was originally the group currently housed a fair election fund. It suggests that it was intended to support operations. Mask was the first to support him.

Sachs’ involvement continues until 2024, and her name will appear on record This was accompanied by the purchase of the Fair Election Fund’s broadcast.

Musk has been like that since 2022 Secretly channel his political spending Through a dark money nonprofit organization called Building America’s Future. The group is run by General and Phil Cox, two Republican operatives involved in the failed presidential bid for DeSantis. I’ll give advice to Musk now. Building the future of America It is reportedly In 2024, we supported the Fair Election Fund. That too Half provided of Republic’s comprehensive funding in 2023.

Ron DeSantis, whose presidential bid for the Florida Governor, was endorsed by the Republic Group. Photo: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA

The Fair Election Fund has other connections with Musk’s advisors who will lead the future of America. Cox’s digital marketing company IMGE LLC, this Serves several groups Musk-backed buildings in America’s future universe Manage the Fair Election Fund Facebook pageand IMGE Employees It seems to be responsible Articles on the Fair Election Fund website.

The Fair Election Fund/Interstate Priorities also served as a conduit to support other musk-backed groups. Group’s 2023 Tax Return It shows that he has won a $1,550,000 grant to citizens for his sanity. Masks were funded in 2022 by building the future of Americaand aired racist and transphobic ads of that election cycle. The grant created almost entire citizens for sanity Funding for 2023.

During the 2024 election cycle, Musk released at least $277 million in political contributions to the super PACs he worked to elect President Trump and other Republicans. I don’t know how much he gave to other politically active groups disguised as donors.

Detours to third-party voting access

The fair election fund’s goal of exposing election fraud at first glance seemed to have no significance.

Of the $5 million fund, the group announced $75,000 in payments of “prizes” and released it $50,000 July 2024 and $25,000 September 2024. Fair Election Fund It was promised While we will not “emphasis” the narratives of election fraud collected through these payments via “active payments and acquired media campaigns,” we suggest that any evidence generated is consequential or reliable. Not there.

Instead, the group detoured in July 2024: $175,000 advertisement “Blitz” targeting North Carolina Election Commission (NCSBE) members delay Third-party presidential candidates Cornell West and Robert F. Kennedy JR will be on the poll. Back then, Republicans and their allies believed West and Kennedy would do. I’ll act as a spoiler to help Trumpby sucking up left-leaning votes away from the Democratic presidential candidate.

Ironically, the NCSBE delayed decisions regarding Western and Kennedy’s eligibility and is based on evidence. The petition was obtained through fraudulent means – Concerns that appear to coincide with the Fair Election Fund’s mission to expose election fraud.

Fair Election Fund advertisement NCSBE Democrats declared “threatening your right to vote” and provided compensation for evidence of members’ “shady backroom deals.” The group too Projected image I drove next to the NCSBE building. Mobile sign Around the agency’s headquarters.

A fair election fund was also implemented Digital Advertising North Carolina features black voters, some of which areNo African American voices heard“, others sayEquality, support inclusion, support [Cornel West’s] Justice for all parties“. The group has promoted similar efforts in states such as Michigan.

Mark Elias, a Democratic lawyer who tried to stay west of votes in North Carolina and elsewhere, was a frequent target for the group. October 2024, Group announcement Performing six-figure ad purchases to “troll” Elias. The ads included mobile billboards around Elias Law Group Office and full-page ads for the Washington Post. “We’ve broken Mark Elias and his racist voter suppression lawsuit. Cornell West, but the fair election fund has stopped him.”

The fair election fund was then directed towards a series of efforts to chase other trending right-wing conspiracy theories.

For example, fair election funds over the summer are Online Funding Platform ActBlueclaiming he found it.”60,000 potential contradictionsIn ActBlue Facilitation’s contribution to the Biden-Harris campaign, based on a survey conducted “from late July to early August.” The group is “I spent $250,000 About these initial findings” – Amazing

Source: www.theguardian.com

Tesla Armored Vehicles to Receive $400 Million Funding from US State Department

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The US State Department has allocated $400 million to purchase new Tesla armored vehicles, despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk leading efforts to reduce government spending during Donald Trump’s term.

Sector-generated procurement forecasts indicate a proposed expenditure of $400 million (£320 million) for “armored Teslas (production units).” These vehicles could potentially be the Cybertrucks, Tesla’s latest electric pickup model, touted by Musk as being bulletproof.

This revelation raises concerns about a possible conflict of interest for Musk, who is a major beneficiary of US government contracts through his various companies.

While Musk’s wealth primarily comes from Tesla, his rocket company SpaceX is a key contractor providing space launch services to the US government.

Despite Musk’s efforts to streamline government spending, particularly through his initiative named Doge, Trump has also involved him in government efficiency efforts. These actions have been criticized for potentially violating the US Constitution.

State Department documents suggest that the Tesla contract will be finalized by the end of September.

The department’s website originally included a forecast document dated December 13, 2024, showing the Tesla procurement plan. However, a later version corrected this entry after it was reported by Drop Site News, replacing “Tesla” with “armored electric vehicles” (EVs) without specifying the brand.

In addition to Tesla, the US government also procures armored vehicles from other manufacturers, as indicated in the procurement documents.

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Both Tesla and the US State Department have been approached for comments on the matter.

Source: www.theguardian.com

69 million years ago, the famous waterfowl of Antarctica was thriving.

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

American and Australian paleontologists have discovered and explained the new, almost complete skull of Vegavis Iaai, a diver bird species in Footpro, which lived in Antarctica during the latest Cretaceous period between 69.2 and 68.4 million years ago. New fossils provide insight into bird feeding ecology and show morphology that supports placement among waterfowls in Crown Group (modern) birds.

Vegavis Iaai. Image credit: Mark Whitton.

Vegavis Iaai was first discovered 20 years ago by a research team led by Austin paleontologists, led by the University of Texas.

At the time, the species was proposed as an early member of the crown bird, which evolved into nests among waterfowls.

However, crown birds are very rare before end extinction, and more recent research has raised questions about the evolutionary position of Vegavis Iaai.

“There are few birds who are likely to start as many arguments as paleontologists do. Vegavis,” said Professor Christopher Torres of the University of the Pacific.

“This new fossil will help resolve many of these debates. Chief among them: Where are you? Vegavis Iaai Are you sitting on the bird of life tree?”

Almost complete skull of Vegavis Iaai collected during the 2011 expedition Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project.

Professor Torres and his colleagues produced an almost complete three-dimensional reconstruction of the new specimen.

Team analysis reveals typical bird brain shapes and supports the placement of Vegavis Iaai among the waterfowl family, and as relatives of ducks and geese.

However, in this study, the birds had elongated, pointed beaks that drive the strengthened jaw muscles.

“The fossil highlights that Antarctica has a lot to say to us about the early stages of modern bird evolution,” said Professor Patrick O’Connor of Ohio University.

“A bird known almost simultaneously from other parts of the globe is barely recognizable by modern bird standards.”

Furthermore, most of the few sites that have even preserved delicate bird fossils produce incomplete specimens that are so incomplete that they don’t only give hints to their identities. Vegavis until now.

“And some places with substantial fossil records of late Cretaceous birds like Madagascar and Argentina are the strange birds with teeth and long bone tails that are only associated with modern birds. It reveals birds.”

“It seems that something very different is happening in the distance in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in the Antarctic.”

Study was published in the journal Nature.

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Cr Torres et al. 2025. The skulls of Cretaceous Antarctic birds elucidate the ecological diversity of early birds. Nature 638, 146-151; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08390-0

Source: www.sci.news

Bone with crocodile bites dating back 76 million years discovered in Canada

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Understanding food chains in ancient ecosystems is one of the goals of paleoecology. Direct evidence of these interactions is rare and includes fossils with stomach contents and bite/teeth marks. A rare occurrence of bite marks on the neck vertebrae of a giant azhdarchyd goat larval vertebral column specimen from the Greater Sublineage of Alberta, Canada. was recorded. Approximately 76 million years ago. Based on the size and shape of the tooth marks and comparisons with modern animals, the authors suggest that crocodiles bite pterosaurs, but it is unclear whether this is active predation or scavenging. I couldn’t do it. Signs of giant pterosaurs are rare, so this provides novel details about how they fit into this ancient ecosystem.

Fossilized neck bones of a young boy Cryodrakon Boreas It shows signs (right part of specimens 2 and 8) that do not indicate that it was bitten by a crocodile-like creature 76 million years ago. Image credit: Brown et al. , doi:10.1017/jpa.2024.12.

The 76-million-year-old neck vertebrae were excavated in July 2023 in the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada.

The preserved (i.e. incomplete) length of the specimen is 5.8 cm. The estimated total length of the vertebrae is 9.4 cm.

The specimen has a circular puncture mark 4 mm wide from a crocodile tooth.

“Peterosaurus bones are very delicate, so it's very unusual to find fossils that were clearly chewed by another animal,” said Dr Caleb Brown, a palaeontologist at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. states.

“This specimen is even rarer because it is a juvenile.”

The punctured vertebrae belong to a larva (estimated wingspan 2 m) Cryodrakon Boreasa species of giant azhdarchid pterosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Canada.

Adults of this species will be as tall as a giraffe with a wingspan in an area of 10 m.

“With an estimated wingspan comparable to some of the largest azhdarchids, creedracon And other large azhdarchids were probably significant terrestrial foragers,” said the paleontologist.

“Bite marks, implanted teeth, and stomach contents indicate that the azhdarchid pterosaurs were fed by velociraptrines and crocodiles.”

Cryodrakon Boreas. Image credit: David Maas.

In this study, they used micro-CT scans and comparisons with other pterygoid bones to confirm that they were the result of an actual crocodile bite, rather than fossilization or damage during excavation. I did.

“It helps document species interactions from this time,” said Dr. Brian Pickles, a paleontologist at Reading College.

“While we can't say whether the palace was alive or dead when it was bitten, the specimen is a juvenile that crocodiles sometimes preyed on in prehistoric Alberta more than 700 million years ago, or removed.” It shows that it shows a pterosaur.”

study Published online today Journal of Paleontology.

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Caleb M. Brown et al. Larval vertebral vertebrae with putative crocodile bites from a Campanian in Alberta, Canada. Journal of Paleontologypublished online on January 23, 2025. doi:10.1017/jpa.2024.12

Source: www.sci.news

Study suggests that a massive flood reclaimed the Mediterranean Sea 5.3 million years ago

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A massive flood called the Zanclean Flood ended the Messinian salinity crisis that lasted from 5.97 million to 5.33 million years ago, according to a new study led by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).

One of the scenarios being discussed for ending the Messinian Salinity Crisis 5.33 million years ago is the catastrophic backfilling of the Mediterranean Sea by the Zanclean Flood. Micallef others. They present clear onshore and offshore evidence that this deluge spilled over a shallow marine corridor in southeastern Sicily into the nearby underwater Noto Gorge. This aerial photo shows a ridge eroded by a major flood, located northeast of Masseria del Volpe, in southeastern Sicily. Image credit: Kevin Sciberras and Neil Petroni.

“The Zanclean Flood is an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon, with flows and velocities that seem dwarfed by any other known flood in Earth’s history,” said the study’s lead author, C.A. said Dr. Aaron Micallef, a research scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

“Our study provides the most convincing evidence yet of this unusual event.”

During the Messinian salinity crisis, the Mediterranean Sea was isolated from the Atlantic Ocean and evaporated, creating vast salt deposits that transformed the region’s landscape.

Scientists have long believed that this dry period would gradually end and that the Mediterranean Sea would be reclaimed over 10,000 years.

However, the discovery in 2009 of an eroded channel stretching from the Gulf of Cadiz to the Alboran Sea called this idea into question.

The discovery points to a single major flooding event lasting between two and 16 years, which became known as the Zanclean Flood.

Estimates indicate that the outflow of this megaflood was between 68 and 100 Sverdraps (Sv), where 1 sievert is equivalent to 1 million cubic meters per second.

In their research, Dr. Micallef and his colleagues combined newly discovered geological features with geophysical data and numerical modeling to provide the most comprehensive picture of the megaflood to date. did.

The researchers investigated more than 300 asymmetric streamlined ridges in the corridor across the Sicilian Sil, a submerged land bridge that once separated the western and eastern Mediterranean basins.

“The morphology of these ridges corresponds to erosion by large-scale turbulence, mainly in a north-easterly direction,” said Professor Paul Carling from the University of Southampton.

“They reveal the immense power of the Zanclean Flood and how it changed the landscape and left a lasting mark on the geological record.”

Scientists sampled the ridge and found that it was overlain by a layer of rock debris containing material eroded from the sides of the ridge and surrounding areas. This indicates that it was deposited there rapidly and with great force.

This layer lies right on the boundary between the Messinian and Zanclean periods, where the Great Flood is thought to have occurred.

Using seismic reflection data, a type of geological ultrasound that allows scientists to see layers of rock and sediment beneath the Earth’s surface, the authors found a “W-shaped” shape on the continental shelf east of Sicily’s Sill. discovered a waterway.

This channel, dug into the ocean floor, connects the ridge to the Noto Gorge, a deep underwater canyon located in the eastern Mediterranean.

The shape and location of the channel suggest that it functioned like a giant funnel.

When the mega-flood flowed into Sicily’s Sill, this channel is thought to have carried the water towards the Noto Valley and into the eastern Mediterranean.

The research team developed a computer model of the flood to simulate how the water behaved.

The model shows that floodwaters change direction and increase their strength over time, reaching speeds of up to 32 meters per second (72 miles per hour), carving deeper channels, eroding more material, and increasing their length. This suggests that they may have been transported over long distances.

“These discoveries not only reveal a critical moment in Earth’s geological history, but also prove that landforms persist for five million years,” Dr. Micallef said.

“This opens the door to further research on the Mediterranean coast.”

of study Published in a magazine Communication Earth and Environment.

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A. Micallef others. 2024. Land-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean Flood. common global environment 5,794;doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01972-w

Source: www.sci.news

New study suggests Homo erectus flourished in grassland and desert environments one million years ago

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

homo erectusan early member of the genus homoA new study shows that a new study shows that the astronauts were able to successfully navigate longer, harsher and drier terrain in eastern Africa than previously thought.

archaic humans. Image credit: Ninara / CC BY 2.0.

For a long time, debate has centered on when this genus originated. homo They have acquired the adaptability to survive even in extreme environments such as deserts and tropical rainforests.

Traditionally, homo sapiens Archaic humans were thought to be able to sustainably occupy such ecosystems, and ancient hominids were thought to be confined to smaller ranges.

However, evidence suggests that at an early stage homo Two million years ago, they had the ability to adapt to diverse and unstable environments.

“It’s extinct now, but homo erectus Professor Michael Petraglia of Griffith University said: “Humans have existed for an estimated 1.5 million years or more, marking the successful survival of the species in our evolutionary history.” Compared to that, it is about 300,000 years until now.

Professor Julio Mercader of the University of Calgary added, “Their success is due to their ability to survive over long periods of time characterized by many changes in environment and climate.”

Investigate how climate change has affected ecological ranges, dispersal patterns, and technology. homo erectusThe authors conducted an interdisciplinary study at Engazi Nayori in Oldupai Gorge, an important early human settlement on the equator in Tanzania.

They discovered that between about 1.2 million and 1 million years ago, the region remained semi-desert, with distinctive plant life.

Archaeological data suggests the existence of the following groups: homo erectus They repeatedly settled in areas where fresh water was available, such as ponds, and adapted to local conditions by developing specialized stone tools such as scrapers and jagged tools (known as denticles).

The researchers suggest that, taken together, these findings demonstrate that: homo erectus Their ability to survive in extreme environments was far greater than previously thought.

“This adaptive profile, characterized by resilience in arid regions, challenges assumptions about the dispersal limits and location of early humans.” homo erectus As a versatile generalist and the first human to transcend environmental boundaries on a global scale,” Professor Petraglia said.

“This adaptability is probably due to homo erectus They invaded the arid regions of Africa and Eurasia and redefined their role as ecological generalists, thriving in some of the most difficult landscapes of the Middle Pleistocene,” added Professor Paul Durkin of the University of Manitoba. .

of findings Posted in today's diary Nature Communication Earth and Environment.

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J. Mercader others. 2025. homo erectus One million years ago, they adapted to the extreme climates of grasslands and deserts. common global environment 6, 1; doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01919-1

Source: www.sci.news

Tech giants Google and Microsoft donate $1 million each to President Trump’s inaugural fund

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Google and Microsoft each contributed $1 million to President Donald Trump’s Inaugural Fund, along with companies like Amazon, Meta, OpenAI, and Uber.

“Google is supporting the 2025 Inauguration with a live stream on YouTube and a direct link to the homepage. We are also donating to the inaugural committee,” said Google Government Affairs & Public Policy global head Karan Bhatia in a statement to the Guardian on Thursday.

Google made the donation on Monday, as reported by CNBC. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda mentioned that the company had previously donated to the Inauguration Fund and hosted a livestream of the inauguration.

Microsoft confirmed its $1 million donation to President Trump’s inaugural fund in a statement to Bloomberg on Thursday. The company had also donated to Trump’s 2017 inauguration and Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration.

Many other major companies made significant donations to President Trump’s inaugural fund last month, including Toyota, Uber, Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI.

These donations helped raise funds for President Trump’s inaugural committee, which received a $170 million donation. This appears to be an attempt by tech giants to gain favor with President Trump for his second term in office.

President Trump’s relationship with big tech companies has been contentious, but as his inauguration approaches, there seems to be a shift in tone from both parties.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai criticized the January 6 riot and praised President Trump’s victory. President Trump also noted a change in attitude towards him from various tech companies.

Mark Zuckerberg of Meta Inc. announced changes in the company’s approach to fact-checking and censorship, aiming to reduce censorship and recommend more political content across their platforms.

Experts believe that contributing to Trump’s inauguration is a way for tech companies to gain support from the new administration and avoid being targeted by President Trump in the future.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Since 2016, Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, has secured approximately £200 million in subsidies from the UK.

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Analysis shows that since 2016, Elon Musk’s electric car company has received approximately £200m in subsidies from the UK government.

Tesla, led by a tech billionaire who is actively engaging with the UK government, has been granted £191m in funds from Westminster, as reported by Tassel, a public contract data analysis company.

The majority of this funding, £188m, came from the Department for Transport (DfT) over the specified period.

These subsidies were primarily related to the Plug-in car subsidy aimed at encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Initially introduced in 2011, this subsidy provided a discount on the purchase price of new plug-in cars, starting at £5,000, until its conclusion in June 2022.

Recent figures from DfT reveal that transportation subsidies peaked at £61.6m in 2020 and have since decreased, with Tesla receiving £49,000 in the first half of the previous year.

Additional grants for Tesla in the UK were provided by entities such as Stirling Council, South Central NHS Trust, and the Scottish Government.

The fact that Tesla has benefited from British government subsidies contrasts with Elon Musk’s statements about reducing government intervention and expenditure.

Musk was appointed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to co-lead the Office of Government Efficiency, with plans to streamline federal operations. He also mentioned plans to streamline X’s workforce after acquiring the company in 2022 and reducing the number of federal agencies in the U.S.

Tesla recently reported a decline in annual deliveries for the first time, as incentives failed to drive demand for its older models, missing quarterly targets several times in 2024.

As the world’s wealthiest individual, Musk has utilized X to criticize politicians such as Keir Starmer regarding recent scandals.

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Prime Minister criticized Elon Musk for his recent attacks on the government, denouncing his spreading of misinformation about gang raids.

Tesla has been contacted for a response.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Since joining Facebook in 2018, Nick Clegg has sold around $19 million worth of Meta stock.

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

During his time as owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Nick Clegg reportedly made around $19 million from the sale of Meta shares. Filings show that before stepping down as president of Global Affairs and Communications, Clegg had sold shares worth $18.4 million.

Although his total salary at Meta has not been disclosed, he still owns approximately 39,000 shares of the company, valued at around $21 million at current prices. Joel Kaplan will succeed him as deputy, known for his conservative views and previous role in the George W. Bush administration.

Speculation surrounds Clegg’s next move after leaving Meta, with potential for a return to politics. He is considering opportunities in artificial intelligence, having criticized Rishi Sunak’s approach to AI regulation and aligning more with Tony Blair’s optimistic views on the technology’s potential.

Open to work opportunities in both public and private sectors, Clegg aims to return to London and remain in Europe in 2022. His wife, Miriam, has her own political ambitions and recently established a think tank in Spain.

Knighted in 2018 for his public service, Clegg faced criticism for joining Facebook later that year. Despite his previous advocacy against Brexit, Clegg’s tenure at Meta saw success amidst challenges of fake news and data protection.

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In his Facebook post, Clegg reflects on his time at Meta, expressing pride in his work and the innovative approach he brought to the role. Despite his past political achievements and setbacks, Clegg remains optimistic about the future.

Looking ahead, Clegg’s next steps are uncertain, with possibilities in various sectors on the horizon. His departure from Meta marks a new chapter in his career, leaving a legacy of experience and impact in the digital landscape.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Apple settles lawsuit by paying $95 million over claims Siri listened to private conversations

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million in cash to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that its voice assistant, Siri, violated users’ privacy and listened to them without their consent.

iPhone owners complained that Apple routinely recorded private conversations after users unintentionally activated Siri and made those conversations available to third parties, including advertisers. The preliminary settlement was filed Tuesday night in federal court in Oakland, California, and must be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.

Voice assistants typically respond when you use a “hotword” such as “Hey, Siri.” The two plaintiffs said references to Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants prompted advertisements for those products. One person said he received an advertisement for a well-known surgical treatment after a personal discussion with his doctor. The plaintiffs argued that Apple did not receive consent before recording their conversations and, in fact, could not have obtained consent because one of the plaintiffs was a minor and did not have an Apple account at the time of the recording.

The complaint alleges that the violations continued from September 17, 2014 to December 31, 2024. The violation allegedly began with the addition of a “Hey, Siri” function to Siri, which led to unauthorized recordings. Estimated tens of millions of class participants can receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, such as an iPhone or Apple Watch.

Apple denied any wrongdoing in the settlement agreement. The company has consistently emphasized the importance of privacy. In 2018, Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized other technology companies for their surveillance, saying: ‘[t]His desire to prioritize profit over privacy is nothing new.” The company further countered in a letter to Congress. 2018 Apple’s iPhone devices do not “listen” to you, other than detecting the audio trigger “Hey Siri.”

But in a 2019 Guardian report cited in the original complaint, an Apple whistleblower revealed that contractors regularly listen to users’ private conversations when performing quality assurance on Siri. He said that he had done so. These conversations included confidential medical information, drug deals, and recordings of couples having sex. Some of these conversations were recorded by mistake, the whistleblower said, because Siri can mistake things like the “zip sound” as a wake word.

At the time, Apple said that only a “small percentage” of Siri requests are evaluated for quality, and those requests are not tied to a user’s Apple ID. “Siri responses are analyzed in a secure facility, and all reviewers are obligated to comply with Apple’s requests.” Strict confidentiality requirements. “The company then paused A quality improvement program has been installed to stop audio recording by default.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a similar request. They could seek $1.1 million in fees and costs, up to $28.5 million in a settlement fund.

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For Apple, whose net income was $93.74 billion in its most recent fiscal year, $95 million is equivalent to about nine hours of profit.

A similar lawsuit on behalf of users of Google’s voice assistant is pending in federal court in San Jose, California, which is in the same district as the Oakland court. The plaintiffs are represented by the same law firm that worked on the Apple case.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ancient Dinosaur Highway Footprints Uncovered in the UK, Dating Back 166 Million Years

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Workers excavating clay at a limestone quarry in southern England stumbled upon a unique bump, leading to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” and approximately 200 tracks dating back 166 million years, as revealed by researchers on Thursday.

Researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Birmingham unveiled this groundbreaking find after a team of over 100 individuals excavated the Dewars Farm quarry in Oxfordshire in June. This discovery is said to revolutionize previous paleontological research in the area and provide deeper insights into the Middle Jurassic era.

Kirsty Edgar, a professor of micropalaeontology at the University of Birmingham, expressed, “These footprints offer a unique glimpse into the lives of dinosaurs, providing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical habitats they inhabited.”

Among the series of tracks forming the “dinosaur highway,” four tracks trace the path of sauropods, giant, long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs that reached lengths of nearly 60 feet. The fifth set belonged to Megalosaurus, a fierce 30-foot-long predator with distinctive three-clawed markings, which was the first dinosaur to be scientifically named over two centuries ago.

Workers survey five vast tracks that formed part of the “Dinosaur Highway.”
University of Birmingham (via AP)

Crossing sections where the tracks intersect raised queries about potential encounters between carnivores and herbivores.

Emma Nichols, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, acknowledged, “Scientists have long studied megalosaurs, but this discovery evidences the existence of further insights into these creatures that are yet to be uncovered.”

Nearly three decades ago, 40 pairs of footprints discovered in a local limestone quarry were deemed among the most significant dinosaur footprints globally. However, as the region is now largely inaccessible, evidence is limited due to the absence of digital cameras and drones during that period.

During the recent excavation, the team captured over 20,000 digital images and utilized a drone to create 3D models of the prints. This extensive documentation could prove valuable for future studies, revealing aspects like the size of the dinosaurs, their gait, and speed.

Duncan Murdoch, a geoscientist at the Oxford Museum, noted, “The preservation of these tracks is so detailed that the deformation of the mud by the dinosaurs’ feet can be observed. Together with other fossils present, such as burrows, shells, and plants, these tracks can reconstruct the muddy lagoon environments the dinosaurs traversed.”

These findings will be showcased in a new exhibit at the museum and will be featured on the BBC’s Digging for Britain next week.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Fossilized tracks of predatory and plant-eating dinosaurs found in the UK dating back to 166 million years ago

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists discovered hundreds of different dinosaur footprints, including one left by a ferocious 9-meter (29.5-foot) predator megalosaurus Dewar’s Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England, by a herbivorous dinosaur up to twice its size.

Footprints of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs at Dewar’s Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England. Image credit: University of Birmingham.

Professor Kirsty Edgar from the University of Birmingham said: “These footprints provide a special window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions and the tropical environments they lived in. ” he said.

Professor Edgar and colleagues have unearthed five vast dinosaur footprints dating back to the mid-Jurassic period, some 166 million years ago.

The longest continuous track was over 150 m (492 ft) long.

Four of the orbits were created by giant, long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs called sauropods. cetiosaurusa cousin of the famous brassica, which can grow up to 18 meters (59 ft) in length. diplodocus.

The fifth orbit was created by a carnivorous theropod dinosaur megalosaurusit was characterized by large three-toed feet with claws.

Parts of the site show intersecting carnivore and herbivore tracks, raising questions about whether and how the two were interacting.

“Scientists know about it and have studied it. megalosaurus Dr Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate paleontologist at Oxford University’s Natural History Museum, said: “They lived longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, but recent discoveries show that new evidence of these animals still exists and discoveries It proves that we are waiting for the future.”

Paleontologists worked together to discover around 200 footprints and used aerial drone photography to build a detailed 3D model of the site.

Professor Richard Butler, from the University of Birmingham, said: “There is much more we can learn from this site. It is an important part of our global heritage.”

“Our 3D model will allow researchers to continue their studies and make this fascinating part of our past accessible for generations to come.”

During the excavation, researchers took more than 20,000 images of the footprints.

These provide a wealth of material for further research and education, providing valuable information about how these dinosaurs walked, their speed, size, whether they interacted, and how they interacted. May provide insight.

Dr Duncan Murdoch, a researcher at Oxford University’s Natural History Museum, said: “The preservation is very detailed and you can see how the mud deformed as the dinosaur’s feet moved in and out.”

“Together with other fossils such as burrows, shells and plants, they can bring to life the muddy lagoon environment that the dinosaurs walked through.”

Source: www.sci.news

Uber and its CEO contribute $1 million each to President Trump’s inaugural fund

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Uber and its CEO have donated $1 million to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, joining a growing list of technology companies and executives seeking to build good relations with the incoming administration.

This donation was announced by a spokesperson for Uber Technologies. The Wall Street Journal reported that on Tuesday, Uber and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi each donated $1 million to Trump’s fund. Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.

Uber had previously donated $1 million to President Biden’s 2021 inauguration, but Khosrowshahi did not donate to that event, according to the Wall Street Journal. The $1 million donation to Trump’s fund is said to be Khosrowshahi’s largest contribution to a political candidate or presidential inaugural fund.

The donations from Uber and Khosrowshahi add to a growing list of tech companies and executives who have pledged to donate $1 million to the president-elect’s inaugural fund.

Mehta, CEO of OpenAI, confirmed last week that he had donated $1 million to the foundation. CEO Sam Altman of OpenAI also planned to make a $1 million personal donation to the foundation. Amazon is also preparing to donate $1 million to Trump’s fund.

Unlike companies and executives like Mark Zuckerberg, Mehta, and Jeff Bezos, Uber and Khosrowshahi do not have a historically strained relationship with President Trump, making their donations especially significant.

Notably, Tony West, Uber’s chief legal officer, is the brother-in-law of Vice President and former Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Mr. West took time off to volunteer with Mr. Harris’ presidential campaign before returning to his role at Uber.

Donations to inaugural committees are common among large companies looking to establish better relations with the new administration.

According to Amazon, the company donated $57,746 to President Trump’s first inaugural fund in 2017. Open Secrets reported that other companies such as Google and Microsoft also made donations. Mehta confirmed to the Guardian that he did not donate in 2017.

Recent donations from tech companies and executives come amidst reports of perks being offered to top donors to the president-elect’s inaugural fund. Since Trump’s election win, he has dined with several technology company executives.

In the past month, Trump has dined with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at his Mar-a-Lago mansion. Apple CEO Tim Cook; as well as Google’s Sundar Pichai and Sergey Brin; are among those who have had dinners with Trump. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is scheduled to have dinner with Trump this week.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Earwig fossil discovered in Denmark dates back 55 million years

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Apachius Madseni This is the first fossil representative of the mysterious earwig family Apachiidae.

Apachius Madseni. Image credit: Simonsen others., doi: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.7.5.7.

The newly described species lived in what is now Europe during the early Eocene, about 55 million years ago.

with scientific name Apachius Madsenithe ancient insect was about 1.9 centimeters (0.75 inches) long.

belongs to the genus Apacius in the family Apacidaeis part of a larger insect order Dermatoptera (commonly known as earwig).

Currently, extant species of this family are found only in south-central Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

They are generally characterized by relatively large, flat bodies and often bright colors.

“Today, the Apaceae family consists of 15 living species in two genera, 13 of which are Apacius And in two Dendroiketes) similarly Apachius Madseni'' said paleontologist Jan Audun Rasmussen of the Mors Museum.

“The current species are distributed in Central Africa (three species) and from India to the Philippines and Australia (the remaining species).”

The discovery of Apachius Madseni Therefore, we show that the range of Apacidae has expanded considerably, indicating that the current distribution of this family is not necessarily indicative of its past distribution or biogeographic origin. ”

almost completed single Apachius Madseni The fossil was discovered in a fur layer in Mors, northwestern Denmark.

“This fossil is the second species of Dermatoptera to be described from the fur layer, and the first representative of the enigmatic Apacidae,” the paleontologists said.

According to the authors, this formation's diatomaceous clay deposits formed the seafloor of northwestern Denmark during the early Eocene, when Denmark was completely covered by sea.

Because modern members of the Apaceae family live under the bark of trees, they believe that: Apachius Madseni It was carried to the sea covered in the bark of a tree trunk that is thought to have drifted ashore from Sweden or Norway about 55 million years ago.

“It's no surprise that we found the ancestor of this tropical and subtropical earwig family so far north as Denmark,” Dr. Rasmussen said.

“55 million years ago, the ocean that covered what is now Denmark was subtropical to almost tropical, as evidenced by the fish, bird, insect, and plant fossils found in ancient seafloor deposits on the islands of Mors and Fir. It is reflected.”

of findings appear in the diary paleoentomology.

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Thomas J. Simonsen others. 2024. Apachius Madseni (Dermoptera: Apacidae) sp. November discovery in the Ypresian fur layer in Denmark: the first fossil record of the mysterious earwig family Apacidae. paleoentomology 007 (5): 638-644;doi: 10.11646/Paleoentomology.7.5.7

Source: www.sci.news

An ancient saber-toothed predator roamed 270 million years ago

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Reconstruction of the oldest known gorgonopsian

henry sutherland sharpe

The earliest known sabertooths hunted large prey 270 million years ago. The newly discovered remains could help explain how early mammal relatives became warm-blooded animals.

The first land predators usually hunted relatively small prey. But things changed about 273 million years ago, when an event known as the Olson extinction shook ecosystems around the world. Then, much larger terrestrial herbivores began to appear, and predators needed new weapons to dispatch such large prey. Josep Fortuny At the Miquel Cursafont Catalan Institute of Paleontology, Barcelona, Spain.

This may help explain why the fossilized partial skeleton of an ancient predator that Fortuny and his colleagues just discovered on the Spanish island of Mallorca had saber-shaped teeth. These fangs are better suited for injuring larger prey than for grabbing and holding small animals. “This was the first time we had access to this kind of tool for preying on herbivores,” Fortuny said.

Dating back an estimated 270 million years, this predator is the oldest known member of a group of carnivores known as gorgonopsians, all of whom had saber-shaped teeth. The largest gorgonopsids grew to several meters in length, with canine teeth reaching 15 centimeters in length. The Mallorca gorgonopsian was smaller, measuring about 1 meter long and its canine teeth only 5 centimeters long. Fortuny said researchers are waiting to name the new gorgonopsian until they have analyzed the bones and teeth in more detail.

Ancient predators are important not only because of their age. At the time they roamed Mallorca, the island was part of a tropical supercontinent called Pangea, but all known fossils of gorgonopsids date back 270 million years. They come from areas of the world that were at high latitudes. The new discovery suggests that the gorgonopsian actually originated near the equator.

Perhaps adaptations developed there, such as the ability to efficiently hunt large prey, may have allowed them to regulate their body temperature in order to spread into cooler habitats away from the equator.

Fortuny says it’s important to better understand this process because gorgonopsids belonged to the therapsids, a group of animals that also includes mammals. “There’s a lot of debate about the first steps in thermoregulation in this group,” he says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Tech Industry Begins to Support President-Elect as Amazon Contributes $1 million to Inaugural Fund

Posted on December 14, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Amazon is the latest tech giant to donate to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund.

Reports indicate that the company plans to donate $1 million to the fund, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Following in Meta’s footsteps, Facebook’s parent company, which also donated $1 million to President Trump’s inaugural committee, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that he would make a personal donation of $1 million. This was reported by Fox News.

As President Trump prepares for his second term, several major tech companies are showing support in hopes of gaining favor for their businesses. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is scheduled to meet with President Trump next week, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently dined with him at his Mar-a-Lago mansion. Google CEO Sundar Pichai is also expected to meet the president soon, according to reports. Time magazine, owned by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, even named Trump its “Person of the Year.”

Altman of OpenAI expressed his belief that Trump will lead the country in technological advancement. In a statement to the Guardian, Altman said, “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I look forward to supporting his efforts to ensure the United States stays ahead.”

Donating to inaugural committees is a common practice for large companies seeking to establish rapport with the incoming administration. Amazon, for example, donated $57,746 to President Trump’s first inaugural fund in 2017, according to Open Secrets. Google and Microsoft also made donations, while Mehta confirmed to the Guardian that he did not donate that year.

Amazon stated that during Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration, the administration declined donations from technology companies, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Allegedly, Trump plans to offer additional perks to donors who contribute at least $1 million to his inaugural committee, including access to various events around the inauguration, dinners with Trump, Cabinet nominations, and a dinner with J.D. Vance, according to the New York Times.

Bezos, who owns the Washington Post, has been a target of Trump’s criticism. However, before the election, the Washington Post decided not to endorse a presidential candidate, likely in an attempt to avoid provoking Trump, as reported by The Washington Post.

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After Trump’s victory, Bezos and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy expressed their support for the new administration. Bezos praised Trump for the opportunities ahead, while Jassy celebrated the victory and expressed eagerness to collaborate with the administration. Amazon’s stock price reportedly rose by 14% after the election.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Jawed vertebrate fossils dating back 400 million years discovered in Australia bring mystery to light

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Palaeospondylus ganniwas a small, eel-like creature that lived during the mid-Devonian period, about 390 million years ago, and is among thousands of similarly preserved fossils from the Achanaras Quarry in Caithness, Scotland. is represented by. Radically different interpretations of its structure had assigned this species to almost all major jawless and jawed vertebrate groups. Paleontologists are currently identifying new and old species. spondylosis From the early Devonian period of Australia.

Palaeospondylus australisbrain cases and histological sections. Image credit: Barrow others., doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwae444.

First described in 1890, spondylosis It is a mysterious fish-like animal with a series of strange morphological features in the fossil record, including a lack of teeth and osteodermal bones.

Until now it was only known as Palaeospondylus ganni From the Middle Devonian Orcadian Basin in Scotland.

Initially interpreted as jawless vertebrates, they were soon classified into their own order and family.

Whereas the Scottish specimen was extremely compressed with all skeletal elements welded together, the new discovery spondylosisis located in a 400-million-year-old limestone in the Georgina Basin of western Queensland, central Australia, and is in a very different state of preservation as a 3D unfractured element.

“This is an amazing addition to Queensland's fossil record and is at the other end of the size scale of prehistoric giants like dinosaurs.” loetosaurus and Australotitan couperensis'' said Carol Barrow, a paleontologist at the Queensland Museum.

“What? Palaeospondylus australis Even more interesting is its relationship with similar species in northern Scotland. Palaeospondylus ganni”

The new fossil's honeycomb-like structure and complex internal features suggest the fish's early evolutionary importance.

The exact relationship is Palaeospondylus australis Although much remains unclear, as its features indicate that it retains many larval features, it is likely to be a distant relative of sharks.

This groundbreaking discovery not only enriches our understanding of ancient Australian ecosystems, but also highlights the global connectivity of early vertebrates across continents.

research Palaeospondylus australis It promises to uncover more mysteries about the evolution of jawed vertebrates.

“Discovery of a mysterious animal” spondylosis The early Devonian discovery in Australia indicates that this form is likely to have been distributed globally, given that Scotland and eastern Australia were then and now on opposite sides of the globe. “, the paleontologists said.

“New evidence regarding neurocranial features… spondylosis Adds important but contradictory information about that affinity. ”

“Until new and better evidence becomes available, spondylosis It is considered a pedunculate gnathostome, possibly a sister group to the cartilaginous fishes, and shows a mosaic of characters exhibited by both the osteoostia and some placoderms, as well as by the cartilaginous and teleost fishes. ”

of result appear in the diary National Science Review.

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Carol J. Barrow others. 3D brain box of early jawed vertebrates spondylosis From Australia. National Science Reviewpublished online on December 3, 2024. Doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwae444

Source: www.sci.news

Ancient Ichthyosaur Fossil, 98 Million Years Old, Unearthed in New Zealand

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

New Zealand paleontologists have discovered a partial skeleton. platypterygoid ichthyosaur It dates back to the Cretaceous period.

a pair of Platypterygius sp. Image credit: Dmitry Bogdanov / CC BY 3.0.

“Ichthyosaurs are a clade of secondary aquatic marine reptiles that lived in the oceans for much of the Mesozoic, first appearing in the Early Triassic and eventually becoming part of the Cenomanian.'' It became extinct at the Turonian border.”

“Cretaceous ichthyosaurs were once thought to be a group with low diversity and disparity, the result of a long-term decline since the Jurassic.”

“However, recent studies have produced a growing body of evidence that Cretaceous ichthyosaurs were much more diverse than previously thought.”

“Ichthyosaur fossils were first recorded in New Zealand by von Haast in 1861 from Pott Mountain in the central South Island,” they added.

“Over the next 150 years, ichthyosaur fossil material was recovered from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.”

The new New Zealand ichthyosaur was discovered in the Coverham area at the northern end of the Waiau Toa/Clarence Valley.

The specimen is a disarticulated partial skeleton preserved in a tubercle.

Its origins date back to 98 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, about 4 million years before ichthyosaurs finally became extinct.

“This material comes from the condensate that was discovered.” on site “It lies within the Swale Silt Formation of the Split Rock Formation, a siliciclastic unit deposited during the Cenomanian period and found throughout southern Marlborough and northernmost Canterbury on New Zealand's South Island,” the paleontologists said.

“All Cretaceous ichthyosaur material ever described in New Zealand comes from the North Island.”

This specimen is the most completely preserved ichthyosaur known from New Zealand.

It has a well-preserved pelvis and dorsal fin, adding to the known data set of these elements, which are poorly preserved in Cretaceous species.

“Although the specimen is too fragmentary to be formally named, this taxon has an extremely reduced basioccipital extracondylar area, a scapula with a prominent acromion process and a strap-like scapular shaft, and A complete left pelvic girdle with an elongated depression “located on the anteroproximal aspect of the ischium” is shown, the researchers said.

They suggest that it is a late-diverging member of the platypterygian ichthyosaurs and is closely related to East Gondwanan species. Platypterygius australis and many European Cretaceous ichthyosaurs.

However, it appears to be unrelated to the Cretaceous ichthyosaurs of western Gondwana, suggesting potential regionalism in the Cretaceous ichthyosaur populations of Gondwana.

“New Zealand ichthyosaurs add to the known diversity of Gondwanan-Cretaceous ichthyosaurs, and suggest that ichthyosaur populations were distributed regionally, rather than internationally, near the margins of Cretaceous Gondwana. “This may indicate that,” the scientists concluded.

of findings will appear in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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George R.A. Young others. A platyptera ichthyosaur from the Cenomanian region of central New Zealand. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontologypublished online October 30, 2024. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2408391

Source: www.sci.news

Two hominin species lived together in Kenya 1.5 million years ago

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paleoanthropologists have discovered 1.5 million-year-old footprints of two very different species of humans. homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei — at the same location near Lake Turkana in Kenya.

A 3D computerized model of the surface of an area near Lake Turkana in Kenya shows fossil footprints. Paranthropus boisei (vertical footprint) separate footprint homo erectus Form a vertical path. Image credit: Kevin Hatala / Chatham University.

Hominin is a term that describes a subdivision of the larger category known as Hominidae.

The hominid family includes all extinct and living organisms that are thought to belong to the human lineage that emerged after we separated from our great ape ancestors. This is thought to have happened about 6 to 7 million years ago.

Paleoanthropologists have long hypothesized that: homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei They coexisted.

According to the fossil record, homo erectus It lasted another million years.

Paranthropus boiseiHowever, they became extinct within a few hundred thousand years. Scientists don’t know why.

Both species had an upright posture and bipedal gait, and were very agile. We still know little about how these coexisting species interacted culturally and reproductively.

“Footprints are important because they fall into the category of trace fossils, which includes footprints, nests, and burrows,” said Craig Feibel, a professor at Rutgers University.

“Trace fossils are not parts of living things, but they provide evidence of behavior. Fossil body parts, such as bones and teeth, are evidence of past life, but they are easily displaced by water and predators. ”

This is a reconstruction by the artist homo erectus. Image credit: Yale University.

Professor Feibel and his colleagues discovered footprints from 1.5 million years ago. homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei Near Lake Turkana in Kenya.

“By being on the same surface and forming closely together over time, these two species are located at the edge of the lake and use the same habitat,” Professor Feibel said.

“Skeletal fossils have long provided the primary evidence for studying human evolution, but new data from fossil footprints reveals fascinating details about the evolution of human anatomy and locomotion. , giving further clues about ancient human behavior and the environment,” said Dr. Kevin Hatala. , a researcher at Chatham University.

“Fossil footprints are interesting because they provide a vivid snapshot of our fossil relatives coming to life.”

“These types of data can help us understand how living individuals millions of years ago moved through their environments, interacted with each other, and potentially interacted with other animals. Masu.”

“That's something you can never get from bones or stone tools.”

The authors used a new method they recently developed that allows them to perform 3D analysis to distinguish one footprint from another.

“Biological anthropology is always interested in finding new ways to extract behavior from the fossil record, and this is a great example,” said Dr. Rebecca Ferrell, program director at the National Science Foundation.

“The team used state-of-the-art 3D imaging technology to create a completely new way to observe footprints, which will help us understand human evolution and the role of cooperation and competition in shaping our evolutionary journey. It will help.”

of findings Published in today's diary science.

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Kevin G. Hatala others. 2024. Footprint evidence of locomotor diversity and common habitats in early Pleistocene hominids. science 386 (6725): 1004-1010;doi: 10.1126/science.ado5275

Source: www.sci.news

47 million years ago, the world’s largest earthworm lizard roamed Earth

Posted on November 23, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of the trogonophid Amphisbaenian (worm lizard) from fossil specimens discovered in Tunisia.

rebuilding the life of Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi Ready to prey on large snails of the Brimulidae family. Image credit: Jaime Chirinos.

Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi They lived in what is now Africa during the Eocene epoch, about 47 million years ago.

The new species belongs to Trogonophidae, a small family of limbless carnivorous lizard-like reptiles belonging to the clade Amphisbaenia.

“Amphibians are a group of charismatic fossil squamates with bizarre morphological features and extreme anatomical variations,” said lead author Dr. Georgios Georgalis of the Institute of Animal Systemology and Evolution, Polish Academy of Sciences and his colleagues. said a colleague.

“In particular, its unique skeletal structure has fascinated and puzzled researchers since the 19th century.”

“Before the advent and widespread acceptance of phylogenetics, amphibians were considered to be the third major group of squamates, along with Serpenta and the paraphyletic 'Lacerthilla'.”

“However, recent phylogenetic analyzes place them as a sister group to lizards in the family Caricidae, and this topology is supported by both molecular evidence and a combination of morphological and molecular evidence. The name Lacertibaenia has also been proposed for the clade Amphisbaenia + Lacertidae.

“Amphibians have a relatively rich fossil record spanning the Cenozoic era in Europe and North America, in addition to several Neogene and Quaternary occurrences from South America and some from Africa. Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary productions, very few Neogene productions from the Arabian Peninsula, and very few Neogene occurrences from southwest Asia. is. ”

“Trogonophidae is a fairly distinctive group of amphibians that is today distributed across northern and north-central Africa (including Socotra Island in Yemen) and the Middle East,” the researchers added.

“Currently, four extant genera are recognized. Agamodon, Diplometopon, Pachykaramasu, and the type genus, Trogonophis”

The most distinguishing feature of trogonophids is their hooked teeth, a feature found only among squamates in the otherwise Iguanian group Chronophytes. ”

“Trogonophids have other unique features among amphibians, including locomotion and burrowing patterns, shoulder girdle or hemipenes morphology, chromosomes, spinal arrangement, lack of caudal autodissection, and triangular cross-section. It also has features.

some specimens Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi It was discovered in a place where fossils of Jebel Chanbi Nature Park In Tunisia.

“Jebel Chambi National Park is located in the Kasserine region of central-western Tunisia,” the paleontologists said.

“Material for this study was obtained from a fossiliferous site (Chambi locus 1) consisting of fluvial-lacustrine deposits located at the base of the Chambi continental sequence.”

“These habitats support fish, amphibians, turtles, crocodiles, squamates, birds, and mammals such as bats, primates, euphorians, hyaenodonts, hyracoids, elephant shrews, marsupials, and mammals. It produces a diverse population of aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates, including rodents and sirenians.

Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi At over 90 centimeters (35 inches) long, it was the largest amphibian ever known.

“Among the extant amphibian fliers, Amphisbaena Alba is the largest species, reaching a maximum total length of 81 centimeters (32 inches) and a skull length of more than 3.1 centimeters (1.2 inches), the researchers said.

Virtually all modern amphibians are burrowing animals and rarely appear on the surface outside of underground environments.

Nevertheless, certain features Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi They seem to contradict this natural history pattern and instead suggest that ancient species likely lived on the surface of the earth.

This is further supported by the extreme size. Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi which makes underground habits less likely to occur.

“Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi “This is a significant contribution to the fossil record of the hitherto little-known African Amphisbaenia, making it only the fifth species to be named extinct on the African continent,” the scientists concluded. .

“Furthermore, the new material from Chambi further adds to the extremely poor fossil record of the Trogonophidae.”

Regarding new species, paper this week, Zoological journal of the Linnean Society.

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Georgios L. Georgalis others. 2024. The world's largest earthworm lizard: a new giant trogonophid (Squamata: Amphisbaenia) with extreme dental adaptations from the Eocene of Chambi, Tunisia. Zoological journal of the Linnean Society 202 (3): zlae133;doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae133

Source: www.sci.news

Study shows Lafayette meteorite minerals interacted with Martian water 742 million years ago

Posted on November 16, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Eleven million years ago, an asteroid hit Mars, sending debris flying through space. One of these masses eventually crashed into Earth. During initial investigation of this object, lafayette meteoritescientists discovered that it interacted with liquid water while on Mars. Now, researchers from the US and UK have determined the age of minerals in meteorites that formed when liquid water was present.

The Lafayette meteorite was scraped off the surface of Mars and then spent about 11 million years flying through space. It finally ended up in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931 and has been teaching scientists about Mars ever since. Image credit: Purdue Brand Studio.

A meteorite is a solid time capsule from a planet or celestial body in the universe.

They carry bits of data that can be unlocked by geochronologists.

They are distinguished from rocks you might find on Earth by the crust they form as they fall into the atmosphere, often forming a fiery portal visible in the night sky.

“We can identify meteorites by studying what minerals are in them and the relationships between these minerals,” said researcher Dr. Marissa Tremblay. states. purdue university.

“Meteorites are often denser than Earth's rocks, contain metals, and are magnetic.”

“We can also look for things like the fusion crust that forms when we enter Earth's atmosphere.”

“Finally, we can use the chemical properties of meteorites (particularly their oxygen isotope composition) to determine which planet they came from or what type of meteorite they belong to. ”

According to the authors, some Martian meteorites, such as the 0.8 kg Nacritite meteorite called the Lafayette meteorite, contain minerals that were formed by interaction with liquid water while on Mars. That's what it means.

“So by dating these minerals, we can tell when in Mars' geological past there was liquid water on or near the surface of Mars,” Tremblay said. .

“We dated these minerals in the Martian meteorite Lafayette and found that they formed 742 million years ago.”

“At this point, we don't think there was an abundance of liquid water on the surface of Mars.”

“Instead, we believe this water comes from melting nearby underground ice called permafrost, and that permafrost thaw is caused by magmatic activity that continues to occur regularly on Mars. ”

Researchers say the age derived from the timing of water-rock interactions on Mars is robust and the chronometer used is not affected by events that happened to the Lafayette meteorite, which changed in the presence of water. It was proved that.

“This age could be due to the impact of the Lafayette meteorite being ejected from Mars, the heating Lafayette experienced during its 11 million years floating in space, or the heating Lafayette experienced when it fell to Earth and burned up a bit. “in Earth's atmosphere,'' Dr. Tremblay said.

“But we were able to demonstrate that none of these things affected the chronology of water quality changes in Lafayette.”

“This meteorite has unique evidence that it interacted with water,” said Dr. Ryan Ickert, also of Purdue University.

“The exact date of this is controversial, and our publication dates from a time when water existed.”

“We know this because after this meteorite was ejected from Mars, it was bombarded with cosmic ray particles in space, producing specific isotopes at Lafayette,” Tremblay said. said.

“Many meteoroids are produced by impacts on Mars and other planets, but only a handful end up falling on Earth.”

of findings Published in this month's magazine Geochemical perspective letter.

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MM Tremblay others. 2024. Dating recent water activity on Mars. Letter from a geochemical perspective 32;doi: 10.7185/geochemlet.2443

Source: www.sci.news

Enantiornis fossil from 80 million years ago connects Archeopteryx to modern birds

Posted on November 14, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have unearthed the exquisitely preserved remains of a Cretaceous enantiornithine bird in São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil. The skull’s extraordinary three-dimensional preservation allowed researchers to digitally reconstruct the bird’s brain.

Artist’s impression Nabaornis Hestia. Image credit: Júlia D’Oliveira.

The newly identified Enantiornithine species They lived in what is now Brazil about 80 million years ago (late Cretaceous period).

with scientific name Nabaornis Hestiathe ancient bird was about the same size as a starling.

This species had a larger cerebrum Archeopteryxsuggesting that they had more advanced cognitive abilities than early bird-like dinosaurs.

However, most regions of the brain, such as the cerebellum, are underdeveloped, suggesting that the complex flight control mechanisms of modern birds have not yet evolved.

“The structure of the brain is Nabaornis Hestia almost exactly in between Archeopteryx Dr Guillermo Navarone, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, says:

Fossilized remains are Nabaornis Hestia It was recovered in 2016 from the local Williams Quarry in Presidente Prudente, part of Brazil’s Adamantina Formation.

Tens of millions of years ago, the site was probably an arid region with slow-flowing streams, allowing for the impressive preservation of fossils.

The extraordinary three-dimensional preservation has allowed paleontologists to use advanced micro-CT scanning techniques to reconstruct the toothless, large-eyed bird’s skull and brain in stunning detail.

fossilized skeleton Nabaornis Hestia. Image credit: Stephanie Abramowitz.

“This fossil is truly one of a kind and I was in awe from the moment I first saw it to the moment I finished assembling the skull and brain. “You can fully understand the scientific structure,” Dr. Navarone said.

Professor Daniel Field from the University of Cambridge added: “Modern birds have some of the most sophisticated cognitive abilities in the animal kingdom, rivaled only by mammals.”

“However, scientists have struggled to understand when and how birds’ unique brains and remarkable intelligence evolved. The field is looking forward to discovering fossils just like this one. I’ve been waiting for it.”

On the other hand, the skull Nabaornis Hestia At first glance, it resembles a small pigeon, but upon closer inspection, it turns out that it is not a modern bird at all, but a member of the “opposite birds”, or “opposite birds”.

Birds of the order Enantiornithiformes, which diverged from modern birds more than 130 million years ago, have complex feathers and are thought to have been able to fly as competently as modern birds. .

However, the anatomical structure of the brain Nabaornis Hestia This raises new questions: How does enantiornithine behave without a range of brain features observed in living birds, including an enlarged cerebellum, which is a spatial control center in living birds? Did they control the flight?

“This fossil represents a species at an intermediate point in the evolutionary process of bird cognition,” Professor Field said.

“The cognitive ability is Nabaornis Hestia They may have had an advantage in finding food and shelter, and were capable of elaborate mating displays and other complex social behaviors. ”

“This discovery shows that some of the birds that flew above the dinosaurs already had fully modern skull shapes more than 80 million years ago,” Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County said. said researcher Dr. Luis Chiappe.

This finding is reported in the following article: paper in a diary nature.

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LM Chiappe others. 2024. Cretaceous birds from Brazil tell the story of the evolution of bird skulls and brains. nature 635, 376-381; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08114-4

Source: www.sci.news

Oldest known tadpole fossil dates back 161 million years

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have discovered the well-preserved fossilized remains of an early anuran tadpole. Notobatrachus degiustoi At Estancia La Matilde in Patagonia, Argentina.

Reproducing the lives of tadpoles and adults Notobatrachus degiustoi. Image credit: Gabriel Rio.

Frogs and toads belong to a group of tailless amphibians called anurans.

They are characterized by a biphasic life cycle, with an aquatic larval (tadpole) stage followed by an adult (frog) stage.

Adult anurans remain in the fossil record until the late Triassic period (approximately 217 to 213 million years ago), but tadpoles have not been recorded before the Cretaceous period (approximately 145 million years ago). Not yet.

“Tadpoles are free-living, non-reproductive anuran aquatic larvae that undergo morphological and ecological changes over a short period of time before reaching the adult reproductive stage. “We need to go through a metamorphosis stage that involves profound changes in our lives.” And her colleagues.

“This rapid metamorphosis in anurans is the most extreme among extant tetrapods, with tadpoles representing a highly derived larval stage.”

The authors examined well-preserved tadpole fossils. Notobatrachus degiustoi from Formation of La Matilde In Patagonia.

This giant anuran lived during the Middle Jurassic Period, 168 to 161 million years ago.

This species is also represented by a large number of excellently preserved adult specimens from the same locality.

Notobatrachus degiustoi Tadpole. Image credit: Chubar others., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08055-y.

According to the team, the tadpoles Notobatrachus degiustoi It was almost 16 centimeters (6.3 inches) long.

The head, most of the body, and part of the tail were visible, as were the eyes, nerves, and forelimbs, suggesting that the tadpole was in a later stage of metamorphosis.

Together, they show that key traits of today’s tadpoles, such as filter-feeding systems, had already evolved in early anurans about 161 million years ago.

“The exquisite preservation of the tadpole, including its soft tissues, shows features related to the filter-feeding mechanism characteristic of living tadpoles,” the researchers said.

“What is noteworthy is that both Notobatrachus degiustoi Tadpoles and adults reached large sizes, proving that tadpole gigantism occurred among stalked anurans. “

“This new discovery suggests that a biphasic life cycle in which filter-feeding tadpoles live in aquatic, ephemeral environments was already present in the early evolutionary history of sessile anurans, and that at least 161 million It has been shown to remain stable over the years.”

of findings Published in this week’s magazine nature.

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M. Chubar others. The oldest tadpoles reveal the evolutionary stability of anuran life cycles. naturepublished online October 30, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08055-y

Source: www.sci.news

Science discovers oldest known tadpole fossil dating back 161 million years.

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists discovered fossils in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province

Mariana Chubar et al., Journal (2024)

The beautifully preserved fossilized tadpoles are the oldest discovered by science, dating back 161 million years, and their anatomy is strikingly similar to some of today’s species. I am.

Paleontologists discovered the fossil in January 2020 while searching for feathered dinosaurs in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province.

“They missed the mark,” says Mariana Churivar of Universidad Maimonides in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “But after many days of digging, one of our team members discovered a stone with a special signature: a fossilized tadpole.”

Chubar and her colleagues have now identified this tadpole as belonging to an extinct frog species. Notobatrachus degiustoiwas deciphered from hundreds of adult specimens discovered in the same fossil deposit since 1957.

Until now, scientists had never unearthed tadpole fossils from before the Cretaceous period, which began about 145 million years ago. This specimen is also the first fossil tadpole from an early frog lineage known as stalk anurans, which is older than modern species known as crown anurans.

This fossil is very well preserved, with eyes and nerves visible in the head, forelimbs, and part of the tail. The researchers estimate that it was about 16 centimeters long, comparable to the largest tadpole in existence today.

The part of the skeleton that supports the gills suggests that the specialized filter-feeding anatomy of modern tadpoles had already evolved in this fossilized tadpole, Chubar said.

The similarities between ancient and modern tadpoles are so great that the researchers were even able to determine the developmental stage in the fossils, concluding that they were just about to undergo metamorphosis into frogs.

Illustration of tadpoles and adults of the species Notabatrachus degiustoi

Gabriel Rio

Earth’s warm, humid climate in the past, combined with the lack of competition and predation from other frog species and fish, may have made it easier for tadpoles to grow large, Chubar said.

Jody Lowry The Australian Museum in Sydney said the discovery of the oldest known tadpole “confirms how successful and stable the ‘typical’ frog life cycle we all learn about in school is.”

The size of the tadpoles tells us a lot about the habitat in which frogs evolved more than 160 million years ago, a water-rich environment with few predators or competitors, she says. “This is something modern frog species can only dream of.”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

UK uncovers ancient cockroach fossil from 180 million years ago

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of Jurassic cockroach. alderblattina simsibased on an isolated wing discovered in Gloucestershire, England.

alderblattina simsi:(A) Dried specimen. (B) Specimen moistened with ethanol. Note the two subspherical spots (spots) on the wing tips and the prominent distal coloration. Scale bar – 1 mm. Image credit: Swaby others., doi: 10.1002/spp2.1598.

Open University palaeontologist Emily Swaby and colleagues from the Open University and National Museums of Scotland said: “Insects are the most diverse group of terrestrial organisms in the history of life, and have been fundamental to terrestrial ecosystems since the early Devonian period. It has become a major component.”

“Primarily detritivores (decomposers), cockroaches play an important role in nutrient cycling in ecosystems through the decomposition of organic matter and are an important food source for many predators, including birds, lizards, and other mammals. ”

“cockroach(Brat Dare) They are part of the superorder Diptera, beginning in the Bashkirian period (Carboniferous) and diversifying rapidly during the second half of the Moscow period and the penultimate Kasimov period of the Carboniferous period. ”

“Further diversification occurred during the Early and Middle Permian.”

“After the mass extinction at the end of the Permian period, cockroach numbers declined sharply, but they flourished again during the Triassic period.”

The newly described cockroach species lived during the Toarcian period of the Early Jurassic period, about 180 million years ago.

named alderblattina simsihad a relatively small size and distinct wing coloration.

“Color patterns in insects, including their wings, are interpreted to be primarily physiological adaptations, thought to be used to protect against predation and sexual signaling,” the paleontologists say. said.

“Today, cockroach species display a wide variety of color patterns, and their functions include communication, protection from predation, sexual signaling, and hardening of the epidermis.”

“alderblattina simsi It is the second cockroach species to have a distinct Toarcian wing coloration pattern. ”

assigned author alderblattina simsi It belongs to the cockroach family Rhipidoblattinidae.

“Alderblattina Shimshi “The presence of two distinct spherical spots on the forewings and the coloration of the wing tips are very different from all other Jurassic cockroaches,” the researchers said.

of Alderblattina Shimshi The fossil was collected by geologists in January 1984 Mike J. Sims.

The specimen was taken from Alderton Hill. whitby mudstone formation.

“We hypothesize that extreme environmental conditions are associated with this problem. Toarcian ocean anoxic phenomenon “Competition for resources and evolutionary changes in predators were promoted, resulting in the development of apothematic coloration in two insect orders at this time,” the researchers said.

“Alderblattina Shimshi This is the seventh valid member of the European Toalchian cockroach family and adds to our knowledge of the European Toalkian cockroach fauna. ”

“This unique specimen adds significance to the record of Mesozoic cockroach wing color patterns and provides important evidence to further understand the evolution of terminal color patterns in the suborder Cockroaches. ”

a paper The survey results were published in a magazine paleontology papers.

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Emily J. Swaby others. 2024. A new species of cockroach (Rhipidoblattinidae) that lived in the Toarcian (Late Jurassic period) of Alderton Hill, Gloucestershire, England. It is likely that aposematic coloration was the earliest to occur in cockroaches. paleontology papers 10 (5): e1598;doi: 10.1002/spp2.1598

Source: www.sci.news

New research indicates that El Niño Southern Oscillation has been around for at least 250 million years

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The El Niño Southern Oscillation, characterized by irregular shifts between unusually warm (El Niño) and cold (La Niña) conditions, has existed for at least 250 million years and is often of increasing magnitude, according to a new report. It is said that it has grown bigger. Studying modeling.

The El Niño Southern Oscillation, which occurs in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, is a characteristic mode of interannual climate change and has significant impacts on the Earth's climate and ecosystems. Image credit: Li others., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2404758121.

Climate scientists are studying the El Niño phenomenon. That's because El Niño, a huge patch of unusually warm water on either side of the equator in the eastern Pacific Ocean, alters the jet stream and can dry out the northwest United States and soak the southwest with extreme rain.

The corresponding cold mass, La Niña, could push the jet stream northward, drying out the southwestern United States while also causing drought in East Africa and making South Asia's monsoon season more intense.

“Each experiment confirms an active El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), most of which are stronger than the current one, some of which are somewhat stronger, and some of which are slightly stronger,” said Dr. Shinen Hu of Duke University.

Hu and his colleagues used the same climate modeling tools used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to project climate change into the future, except they looked back in time.

This simulation is so computationally intensive that researchers were unable to model it continuously every year for 250 million years. Instead, they made 10 million year “slices” – 26 of them.

“The model experiments were affected by various boundary conditions, including differences in land-sea distribution (on different continents), differences in solar radiation, and differences in carbon dioxide,” Dr. Hu said.

Each simulation was run over thousands of model years for robust results and took several months to complete.

“At times in the past, the amount of solar radiation reaching Earth was about 2% lower than it is today, but global warming carbon dioxide was much more abundant, and the atmosphere and oceans were much more dense than they are today. It was very warm,” Dr. Hu said.

During the Mesozoic Era, 250 million years ago, South America was located in the middle of the supercontinent Pangea, and an oscillation occurred in the Panthalas Ocean to its west.

Current research shows that historically the two most important variables in ENSO magnitude appear to be the ocean's thermal structure and the “atmospheric noise” of ocean surface winds.

“Previous studies have mainly focused on ocean temperatures, but this study has paid less attention to surface winds, which appear to be very important,” Dr. Hu said.

“So part of the point of our research is that in addition to the thermal structure of the ocean, we also need to pay attention to atmospheric noise and understand how those winds change. .”

“Atmospheric noise, or wind, can act to give this pendulum a random kick.”

“We find that both factors are important in understanding why El Niño was much stronger than it is now.”

“If we want to make more reliable predictions of the future, we first need to understand the past climate.”

of study Published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Shan Li others. 2024. El Niño Southern Oscillation has been active continuously since the Mesozoic era. PNAS 121 (45): e2404758121;doi: 10.1073/pnas.2404758121

Source: www.sci.news

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