paleontology
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'Resurrected' mammoth DNA helps explain why the species went extinct
Reviving the woolly mammoth is still a tall order. However, technology might be far enough along to help explain why the elephant precursor went extinct in the first place. Scientists have 'resurrected' genes from a population of mammoths that survived on a Siberian island until around 4,000 years ago to see what might have contributed to this relic herd dying out. After resurrecting a mammoth's genes through cells in culture, they compared it against both other mammoths and Asian elephants to look for problematic mutations based on known genetic behavior.
Scientists name ancient shark species after arcade classic 'Galaga'
Paleontologists took a cue from retro games when naming a prehistoric shark -- they dubbed it Galagadon nordquistae after '80s arcade shooter Galaga. They bestowed the unusual name upon the newly discovered species because its teeth look a bit like the classic game's spaceships.
Scientists find the first known dinosaur brain tissue fossil
That lump you see above many not look like much at first blush, but it's a big deal for paleontology: scientists say they have discovered that the sample has the first known example of a dinosaur brain tissue fossil. The team used a scanning electron microscope to detect mineralized blood vessels, collagen, membranes and possibly brain cortex in the remains of an iguanodonid that lived about 133 million years ago. The findings suggest that the dino's brain had a lot in common with those of modern birds and reptiles. Instead of completely filling the cranial cavity, the brain matter significant space for blood vessels and sinuses.
A rare fossil makes an appearance at the Natural History Museum
A nine-year-old girl patiently looked on while a technician pulled up a scan of her specimen. A 3D skull with a pointy beak popped up on the computer screen. The child, wearing clear-framed glasses and a light gray tee with a sequined star on the front, walked up to her father, who carefully put away the skull of a duck inside a round plastic container. They had found the tiny head on a beach and had decided to bring it in for Identification Day at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Alt-week 20.10.12: our oldest primate ancestor, the birth of the moon and a planet with four stars
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. Most mornings, we wake up with little to no idea what happened the day before, let alone last week. Fortunately, they don't let us run important scientific research projects. Or maybe they do, and we just forgot? This week (and most others as it goes) we definitely leave it to the pros, as we get some insightful glimpses at some important origins. Ball Lightning, the moon and even us humans are the benefactors of those tireless scientists, who work hard to explain where it all comes from. There's also a planet with four stars that sees the first few paragraphs of its origin story excitedly written out. One thing we never forget, however, is that this is alt-week.
Drexel University turns to 3D scanners, printers to build robotic dinosaurs
3D printers, 3D scanners and robotics are usually more than enough on their own to get us interested in something, but a team of researchers at Drexel University have played one other big trump card with their latest project -- they've thrown dinosaurs into the mix. As you can probably surmise, that project involves using a 3D scanner to create models of dinosaur bones, which are then reproduced (at a somewhat smaller scale) using a 3D printer. The researchers then hope to use those to build working robotic models that they'll use to study how dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals may have moved and lived in their environments. That work will start with a dinosaur limb that they expect to have completed by the end of the year, after which they say it will take a year or two to build a complete robotic dinosaur replica.
Digging up fossils in Dinosaur King
Oddly enough, screens for a game called Dinosaur King popped up on Sega's press site, but there's been no official word or press release as to what the game is or when to expect it.Still, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what this title involves. The screens are pretty telling; it looks like some sort of paleontology sim, in which you dig up dinosaur bones and restore the extinct creature's skeletons as completely as possible.In fact, it sounds very familiar to what we know of We Are Fossil Diggers, a second-party game that was only released in Japan (and happens to be selling quite well over there). Some of the screens for Dinosaur King also hint that the title has an added drama element, though, so we'll wait until we hear more information.%Gallery-22668%