Teeny Tiny 500-Million-Year-Old Fossils Could Help Explain The Evolution of Spiders

Two tiny fossils, each smaller than an aspirin pill, contain fossilized nerve tissue from 508 million years ago. The bug-like Cambrian creatures could help scientists piece together the evolutionary history of modern-day spiders and scorpions.    Still, it’s not clear exactly where these fossils – both specimens of the species Mollisonia symmetrica – fit on the arthropod … Read more

Two Colossal Sphinx Statues Discovered Inside Ancient Egyptian Temple

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered two colossal limestone statues of King Amenhotep III that are fashioned to look like sphinxes, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.   An Egyptian-German archaeological mission discovered the sphinx-like statues, which were originally about 26 feet (8 meters) long when they were created for King Amenhotep III, an … Read more

The Famous Fossils Scientists Got Incredibly Wrong

We sort of take for granted the depictions of prehistoric beasties illustrated in the books of our childhood. But piecing together Earth’s murky past is a lot harder than it sounds.   Scientists have to rely on fragmentary bones, weathered footprints, impressions in rock – these don’t always capture the fine details of the complex, … Read more

Dinosaur discovery: 70 million-year-old embryo found exquisitely preserved inside its egg

A 70 million-year-old oviraptorosaur egg that had been forgotten in a Chinese museum storeroom contains the most well-preserved dinosaur embryo ever discovered Life 21 December 2021 By Alice Klein The fossilised oviraptorosaur dinosaur embryo curled up in its egg Xing et al., 2021 A fossilised dinosaur embryo discovered in southern China may be the most … Read more

Mutant Bacteria Accidentally Recreated One of Van Gogh’s Most Iconic Paintings

The line between art and science is sometimes a swirly one. Researchers studying a social bacterium that moves and feeds in coordinated swarms have unintentionally recreated something that looks a lot like a familiar masterpiece.   When a certain gene is overexpressed in a bacterium known as Myxococcus xanthus, the individual organisms self-organize into tiny circular … Read more

Bizarre Transparent Fish That Sees Through Its Own Head Captured in Rare Footage

Thousands of feet beneath the surface of Monterey Bay off California, scientists recently captured footage of a fish with a bulbous, translucent head and green orb-like eyes that peer out through its forehead.   This bizarre creature, known as a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma), is very rarely seen. Researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research … Read more