Pigments, Organelles Persist in Jurassic Fossil Feathers

Pigments, Organelles Persist in Jurassic Fossil Feathers

Pigments, organelles persist in fossil feathers
Brown University, Press Release, August 27, 2015
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2015/08/27/pigments.organelles.persist.fossil.feathers
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/bu-pop082515.php
http://phys.org/news/2015-08-pigments-organelles-persist-fossil-feathers.html

Chemical Traces In Fossilized Dinosaur
Feathers Shed Light On Their True Color
By Andrea Alfano, Tech Times, August 28, 2015
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/80280/20150828/chemical-traces-fossilized-dinosaur-feathers-shed-light-true-color.htm

The Open Access paper is:

Lindgren, J., P. Sjövall, R. M. Carney, A. Cincotta,
P. Uvdal, S. W. Hutcheson, O. Gustafsson,
U. Lefèvre, F. Escuillié, J. Heimdal, A. Engdahl,
J. A. Gren, B. P. Kear, K. Wakamatsu, J. Yans,
and P. Godefroit, 2015, Molecular composition and
ultrastructure of Jurassic paravian feathers.
Scientific Reports 5, Article number: 13520 (2015)
doi:10.1038/srep13520,
Published online: 27 August 2015

http://www.nature.com/articles/srep13520

Yours,

Paul H.

Ancient Antarctic Fossils Inspired H.P. Lovecraft's Fiction

Ancient Antarctic Fossils Inspired H.P. Lovecraft's Fiction

Geology And Ancient Fossils Inspired H.P. Lovecraft
To Write His Best Horror Story by David Bressan,
Forbes, Aug. 20, 2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2015/08/20/geology-and-ancient-fossils-inspired-h-p-lovecraft-to-write-his-best-horror-story/

Some blogs about geology-inspired fiction:

The Geology Of Star Trek: From Extraterrestrial Minerals
To Alien Life-Forms by David Bressan, Forbes, Aug. 19, 2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2015/08/19/the-geology-of-star-trek-from-extraterrestrial-minerals-to-alien-life-forms/

On the importance of fictional role models by Jessica Ball
AGU Blogosphere, March 5, 2015
http://blogs.agu.org/magmacumlaude/2015/03/05/importance-fictional-role-models/

Yours,

Paul H.

The Geology of Star Trek - Extraterrestrial Minerals And Alien Life-Forms Important

The Geology of Star Trek - Extraterrestrial Minerals And Alien Life-Forms

The Geology Of Star Trek: From Extraterrestrial Minerals
To Alien Life-Forms by David Bressan, Forbes, Aug. 19, 2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2015/08/19/the-geology-of-star-trek-from-extraterrestrial-minerals-to-alien-life-forms/

Some blogs about geology-inspired fiction:

Geology And Ancient Fossils Inspired H.P. Lovecraft
To Write His Best Horror Story by David Bressan,
Forbes, Aug. 20, 2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2015/08/20/geology-and-ancient-fossils-inspired-h-p-lovecraft-to-write-his-best-horror-story/

On the importance of fictional role models by Jessica Ball
AGU Blogosphere, March 5, 2015
http://blogs.agu.org/magmacumlaude/2015/03/05/importance-fictional-role-models/

Yours,

Paul H.

Species New to Science Blog (It Includes Fossils)

Species New to Science Blog (It Includes Fossils)

Below is an useful web page that I found:

Species New to Science (new & recent described
Flora & Fauna species from all over the World esp.
Asia, Oriental, Indomalayan & Malesiana region
http://novataxa.blogspot.com

It lists recently described and published species
that are new to science. It includes in its postings
newly described species of fossil. Each posts
provides an abstract, taxonomic summary, images,
and a citation with link(s) for each species.

An example is a post for Wendiceratops
pinhornensis at http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2015/07/wendiceratops.html .
and Dreadnoughtus schrani at
http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2014/09/dreadnoughtus.html .

Yours,

Paul H.

Competition From Cats Drove Many Species Of Ancient Dogs Into Extinction

Competition From Cats Drove Many Species Of Ancient Dogs Into Extinction

So that's why dogs hate cats! Fossils reveal felines
drove 40 species of canines to extinction after arriving
in North America, Daily Mail, August 13, 2015.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3196270/So-s-dogs-hate-cats-Fossils-reveal-felines-drove-40-species-canines-extinction-arriving-North-America.html

The role of species competition in biodiversity, July 7, 2015
by Christopher Packham, PhysOrg.
http://phys.org/news/2015-07-role-species-competition-biodiversity.html

Competition from cats drove extinction of many species
of ancient dogs, University of Gothenburg, August 12, 2015
ScienceDaily.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150812103827.htm

The paper is:

Silvestro, D., A. Antonelli, N. Salamin, and T. B. Quentale,
2015, The role of clade competition in the diversification
of North American canids. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Science of the United States. vol. 112,
no. 28, pp. 8684–8689, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1502803112
Abstract: http://www.pnas.org/content/112/28/8684.short
PDF file: http://www.pnas.org/content/112/28/8684.full.pdf

Other articles and paper are:

How Cats Became Domesticated by Janet Fang, Nov. 11, 2014
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/genome-comparison-shows-how-wildcats-became-housecats

Ask Smithsonian: Are Cats Domesticated? by Alicia Ault
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ask-smithsonian-are-cats-domesticated-180955111

"There is little genetic difference between a tabby and a wild
cat, so scientists think the house cat is only domestic when it
wants to be."

Montague M. J., G. Li, B. Gandolfi, R. Khan, and many others,
2015. Comparative analysis of the domestic cat genome reveals
genetic signatures underlying feline biology and domestication
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United
States. vol. 111 no. 48, 17230–17235, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1410083111
http://www.pnas.org/content/111/48/17230.abstract

Yours,

Paul H.

If You Think You're Safe From Earthquakes, You May Be Wrong

If You Think You're Safe From Earthquakes,You May Be Wrong

If You Think You're Safe From Earthquakes, You May Be Wrong (It’s no surprise that
Californians are in danger, but scientists have also flagged residents of Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois and South Carolina.)
National Geographic, August15, 2015
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150812-earthquake-united-states-risk-surprise-science/

The paper is:

Jaiswal, K. S., M. D. Petersen, K. Rukstales, and W. S. Leith (2015) Earthquake Shaking Hazard
Estimates and Exposure Changes in the Conterminous United States. Earthquake Spectra. In-Press.
http://earthquakespectra.org/doi/10.1193/111814EQS195M

The map is at “Seismic Hazard Maps and Data” at
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/products/
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/products/conterminous/index.php#2014
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/products/conterminous/2014/HazardMap2014_lg.jpg

Petersen, M. D., M. P. Moschetti, P. M. Powers, C. S. Mueller, K. M. Haller, A. D. Frankel, Y. Zeng,
S. Rezaeian, S. C. Harmsen, O. S. Boyd, N. Field, R. Chen, R. Rui, K. S. Rukstales, N. Luco, R. L.
Wheeler, R. A. Williams, and A. H. Olsen, 2014, Documentation for the 2014 update of the United
States national seismic hazard maps: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1091, 243 p.,http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2014/1091/

Yours

Paul H.

Geologists Unearth Fully Intact Rock

Geologists Unearth Fully Intact Rock

Geologists Unearth Fully Intact Rock
The Onion, News in Brief, April 3, 2015
Environment · Science & Technology Science
http://www.theonion.com/article/geologists-unearth-fully-intact-rock-38364

Sounds too much like an actual university PR person, who has
written one too many press release, without taking a vaction. :-) :-)

Yours,

Paul H.

Lightning-induced Shock Lamellae in Quartz

Lightning-induced Shock Lamellae in Quartz

Lightning Can Warp Rocks at Their Core
by Elizabeth Goldbaum, August 10, 2015
http://www.livescience.com/51789-lightning-warps-rocks-atoms.html
http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/077/674/original/fulgurite.jpg?1438973494

Lightning Reshapes Rocks at the Atomic Level, Penn
Study Finds by Katherine Unger Baillie, August 5, 2015
http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/news/lightning-reshapes-rocks-atomic-level-penn-study-finds

“but had transferred enough pressure to deform a thin
layer of quartz crystals beneath the surface, resulting
in distinct atomic-level structures called shock lamellae.”

The paper is:

Gieré, R., W. Wimmenauer, H. Müller-Sigmund,
R. Wirth, G. R. Lumpkin, and K. L. Smith, 2015,
Lightning-induced shock lamellae in quartz.
American Mineraologist. vol. 100, no. 7, pp. 1645-1648.
http://ammin.geoscienceworld.org/content/100/7/1645
http://goldschmidt.info/2015/uploads/abstracts/finalPDFs/1039.pdf

Yours,

Paul H.

How Many Scientists Does It Take to Write a Paper?

How Many Scientists Does It Take to Write a Paper?

Research Biologist Coins Term 'Kilo-Author' For Scientific Journal Articles. all Things Considered, August 12, 2015
http://www.npr.org/2015/08/12/431959428/research-biologist-coins-term-kilo-author-for-scientific-journal-articles

How Many Scientists Does It Take to Write a Paper?
Apparently, Thousands Scientific journals see a spike in number of contributors; 24 pages of alphabetized
co-authors, Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-many-scientists-does-it-take-to-write-a-paper-apparently-thousands-1439169200

"His colleagues only discovered that his co-author was a siamese cat several years later when Dr. Hetherington started handing out copies of the paper signed with a paw print."

An example of such a paper:

G. Aad et al. (ATLAS Collaboration), 2015, Evidence of  Wγγ Production in pp Collisions at s√=8  TeV and Limits on Anomalous Quartic Gauge Couplings with the ATLAS Detector
Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 031802 – Published 16 July 2015'
http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.031802 -- http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.92.032001

Yours,

Paul

New Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis Paper

New Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis Paper

There is a new Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis paper. It is;

Kennett, J. P., D. J. Kennettb, B. J. Culleton, and many others,
2015, Bayesian chronological analyses consistent with
synchronous age of 12,835–12,735 Cal B.P. for Younger
Dryas boundary on four continents. Proceedings of the
National Academy of sciences of the United States.
Early Edition, James P. Kennett, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1507146112
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/07/21/1507146112.abstract

Some comments about it:

From the Journal of Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis Studies
Musings on Quantitative Palaeoecology, by Richard Telford
https://quantpalaeo.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/from-the-journal-of-younger-dryas-i
mpact-hypothesis-studies/

Another article of his is “Platinum spikes extra-terrestrial
impact as initiator of Younger Dryas Posted on 24/07/2013”
https://quantpalaeo.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/extra-terrestrials-and-the-younger-
dryas/comment-page-1/#comment-2822

There is an another paper, which found that the environmental
changes that mark the beginning of the Younger Dryas are
diachronous in their time of occurrence according to latitude.
Along latitude 56–54°N, they ocurred as early as c. 12,900–13,100 cal. BP,
while further north they ocurred at c. 12,600–12,750 cal. BP.

This paper is:

Muschitiello, F., and B. Wohlfarth, 2015, Time-transgressive
environmental shifts across Northern Europe at the onset of
the Younger Dryas. Quaternary Science Reviews. 109:49–56.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379114004727

Yours,

Paul H.

Earliest Evidence Of Reproduction In A Complex Organism ( Rangeomorph, Newfoundland)

Earliest Evidence Of Reproduction In A Complex Organism ( Rangeomorph, Newfoundland)

Interesting article about Rangeomorphs ( Fractofusus ):

Earliest evidence of reproduction in a complex organism
Cambridge University, August 3, 2015http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/earliest-evidence-of-reproduction-in-a-complex-organism

Earliest evidence of reproduction in a complex organism, Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150803154858.htm

Newfoundland fossils may show earliest reproduction
in complex organism, CBC News, August 3, 2015
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/newfoundland-fossils-may-show-earliest-reproduction-in-complex-organism-1.3177853

The paper is:

Mitchell, E. G., C. G. Kenchington, A. G. Liu, J. J.
Matthews, and N. J. Butterfield, 2015, Reconstructing
the reproductive mode of an Ediacaran macro-organism.
Nature. (2015), DOI: 10.1038/nature14646
Received 27 February 2015 Accepted 08 June 2015
Published online 03 August 2015
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14646.html

Some other papers:

Drosera, M. L., and J. G. Gehling, 2015, The advent of
animals: The view from the Ediacaran. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Science of the United States. vol. 112,
no. 6, pp. 4865-4870.

Liu, A. G., C. G. Kenchington, and E. G. Mitchell, 2015,
Remarkable insights into the paleoecology of the Avalonian
Ediacaran macrobiota. Gondwana Research. vol. 27,
pp. 1355-1380. http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3182/12/1-s2.0-S1342937X14003256-main.pdf

Liu, A. G., J. J. Matthews, L. R. Menon, D. McIlroy and
M. D. Brasier, 2014, Haootia quadriformis n. gen., n. sp.,
interpreted as a muscular cnidarian impression from the
Late Ediacaran period (approx. 560 Ma). Proceedings of
the Royal Society B Biological Sciences.
http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3111/1/Proc.%20R.%20Soc.%20B-2014-Liu-.pdf

The below paper is very interesting.

Tarhan, L. G. , M. L. Droser, and J. G. Gehling, 2015,
Depositional and preservational environments of the
Ediacara Member, Rawnsley Quartzite (South Australia):
Assessment of paleoenvironmental proxies and the
timing of ‘ferruginization’. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. vol. 434, pp. 4–13.
https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2015/07/tarhanetal2015_pcubed_ediacaranissue.pdf

Yours,

Paul H.

Online PDF File of Folklore of Footprints In Stone paper

Online PDF File of Folklore of Footprints In Stone paper

Hi,

The PDF version of a very interesting paper about the
folklore of fossil footprints is online. the paper is:

Mayor, Adrienne , and William A.S. Sarjeant, 2001,
The Folklore of Footprints In Stone: From Classical
Antiquity to the Present. Ichnos. vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 143–63.

It can be found online at two locations:

1. Dr. Adrienne Mayor’s Academia.edu page at either
https://stanford.academia.edu/AdrienneMayor or
https://www.academia.edu/281958/The_Folklore_of_Footprints_In_Stone_From_Classical_Antiquity_to_the_Present


2. and her Standford University page at either
http://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPST/Mayor.html or
http://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPST/MayorFolklorefoot.pdf

Both web pages have PDF files of other papers of
hers that appear to be equally interesting.

Yours,

Paul H.