Moa DNA found in fossilized egg shells
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| Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - 3:50 AM (Eastern Time)
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Author: FRH
Giant, extinct birds called Moas used to roam Australia. Like dinosaurs, they laid eggs. Unlike the eggs of their mesozoic grandfathers, DNA has been found in Moa eggs, according to an article posted up on The Daily Mail
Biologist Charlotte Oskam and colleagues at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, said eggshell is a resilient membrane that is frequently found in fossil deposits around the world.
But their study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences is the first to discover DNA can be extracted from the eggshells.
The researchers used a state-of-the-art laser technique to highlight DNA 'hotspots' under the microscope using fluorescent green dye.
Yes. DNA. The building block for building a living creature. As to whether the DNA will lead to a 'new' generation of Moa birds remains to be seen, but this certainly raises some interesting questions. If we can get DNA from fossilized Moa eggs, why not dinosaurs?
The full article can be found atThe Daily Mail's website.
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Witte Museum's new dinosaur exhibit
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| Date: Friday, March 5, 2010 - 13:20 PM (Eastern Time)
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Author: FRH
The Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas, is opening its brand new dinosaur exhibit Dinosaurs Unearthed March 6th, 2010. The museum exhibit features animatronic dinosaurs, full renditions of feathered dinosaurs, and of course skeletons. To kick off the new exhibit, the museum will be hosting a variety of events. The cornerstone of which being a visit by Dinosaur George.
Dinosaur George Blasing will be discussing some of the latest discoveries; including feathered dinosaurs, unveil some of the latest evidence discovered through CT scanning of the brain cases of dinosaurs and discuss some of the more unusual dinosaur discoveries in recent years.
Cost is $5 for museum members and students, and $10 for non members.
If you're in the San Antonio area, go give the exhibit some love this month, and pay George a visit.
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67 Million Year Old Fossil of a Snake Eating Dinosaur Infants
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| Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 0:33 AM (Eastern Time)
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Author: Veritas
You read correct folks. A new prehistoric snake species was found eating baby dinosaurs.
The 67 million-year-old fossil is of a snake coiled around dinosaur eggs and a hatchling. This is the first evidence of snakes eating dinosaurs.
Its a stunning, once-in-a-lifetime find, said paleontologist Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago, who was not involved in the study. Weve caught one of the rarest moments in the fossil record, which is prey and predator, together.
The newly discovered species of snake, Sanajeh indicus, measures about 11.5 feet long. The hatchlings, part of a group called titanosaurs, measured about a foot and a half long. Titanosaurs were the largest animal to ever walk on land, with adults that could reach up to 100 feet long.
Read more about this amazing find here.
For those who are attending the Burpee Museum's annual
PaleoFest, be sure to be there at 3:30 P.M. A talk will be give by Dr. Jason Head from the University of Toronto about this amazing find as well as other Prehistoric snakes!
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Discovery Goes Prehistoric
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| Date: Sunday, February 28, 2010 - 11:43 AM (Eastern Time)
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Author: Dilorex
In 2009, the Discovery channel produced a one hour special entitled "Prehistoric: New York," in which the show chronicled various animals that lived in what is now known as New York City, using the current geographic layout as a focus point to show how much the area had changed.
Due to positive reviews and a decent number for watchers of the program, the Discovery Channel has produced 3 more "episodes" for this interesting and highly educational show. Premiering tonight, at 8pm, 9pm, and 10 pm EST, respectively, the specials "Prehistoric Dallas", "Prehistoric Washington D.C." and "Prehistoric Los Angeles" will be shown, with the shows being repeated in the following four hours.
For more information, check out the show's page here:
Discovery's Prehistoric
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New sauropod unearthed in Utah
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| Date: Friday, February 26, 2010 - 14:05 PM (Eastern Time)
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Author: FRH
A new species of sauropod has been named after being excavated, nay, exploded from the rocks of Utah. Say hello to Abydosaurus mcintoshi! the 105 Million year old sauropod is not the only gem of this fossil find, two complete skulls of other sauropods mark this discovery. A rare treat for paleontologists studying these behemoths.
The bones found at Dinosaur National Monument belonged to a type of sauropod long-necked plant-eaters that were said to be the largest animal ever to roam land.
The discovery included two complete skulls from other types of sauropods an extremely rare find, scientists said.
The full article can be read on the Los Angeles Times website, here.
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