A closeup of a partially decalcified fossil YPM Allosaurus bone. Residues of original protein scaffolds in biomineralized tissues preserve characteristic signatures of their interactions with different minerals. (Photo credit: Jasmina Wiemann)
A closeup of a partially decalcified fossil YPM Allosaurus bone. Residues of original protein scaffolds in biomineralized tissues preserve characteristic signatures of their interactions with different minerals. (Photo credit: Jasmina Wiemann) - Step aside, skeletons - a new world of biochemical "signatures" found in all kinds of ancient fossils is revealing itself to paleontologists, providing a new avenue for insights into major evolutionary questions. In a new study published Advances , Yale researchers outline a novel approach to finding biological signals long thought to be lost in the process of fossilization. The new approach has already yielded valuable information about the soft shells that encased the first dinosaur eggs and shown that an ancient creature known as the Tully Monster was a very unusual vertebrate. " What we're discovering is that molecular, carbonaceous residues almost always preserve a microscopic clue within fossils," said Jasmina Wiemann , a graduate student in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Yale and first author of the study. "Fossil organic matter is a wild mix of things, based on the chemical degradation products of original biomolecules." Working with Yale paleontologist Derek Briggs and Yale chemist Jason Crawford - both co-authors of the study - Wiemann analyzed the molecular composition of 113 animal fossils dating back 541 million years.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
