Researchers from North Carolina State University have confirmed that blood vessel-like structures found in an 80 million-year-old hadrosaur fossil are original to the animal, and not biofilm or other contaminants. Their findings add to the growing body of evidence that structures like blood vessels and cells can persist over millions of years, and the data not only confirm earlier reports of protein sequences in dinosaurs, they represent a significant advance in methodology.(more…)
Indonesian waters are major agents for global levels of atmospheric water vapor. A prolonged dry spell in Indonesia thousands of years ago has been found to correlate with ice ages in the northern hemisphere. Brown researchers have compiled a detailed Indonesian climate record of the last 60,000 years, tracking telltale indicators in sedimentary cores: titanium levels (a marker for surface water runoff) and the carbon isotopes of leaf wax, a marker for plant varieties (grasses indicate dry conditions).
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Using sediments from a remote lake, researchers from Brown University have assembled a 60,000-year record of rainfall in central Indonesia. The analysis reveals important new details about the climate history of a region that wields a substantial influence on the global climate as a whole. (more…)
