Oldest cranial, dental and postcranial fossils of early modern European humans confirmed
The human fossil evidence from the Mladec Caves in Moravia, Czech Republic, excavated more than 100 years ago, has been proven for the first time, through modern radiocarbon dating, to be the oldest cranial, dental and postcranial assemblage of early modern humans in Europe. A team of researchers from the Natural History Museum in Vienna, from the University of Vienna in Austria and from t...Researchers find new giant amphibian fossils in Africa
Two new 250 million year-old species of large, meat-eating amphibians have been discovered by researchers, including investigators from McGill University. Their findings published in today's issue of Nature, describe the first and oldest amphibious carnivores from the Republic of Niger in West Africa. "This the first evidence of carnivores in this area," says McGill paleontologist, and co-...Molecular fossils uncover link between viruses and the immune system
Researchers from the Viikki Biocenter, University of Helsinki, show that atomic structures can reveal evolutionary history of viruses in a similar fashion as fossils did for the dinosaurs and reptiles. Their article is published in the April 15 issue of Molecular Cell. These "molecular fossils" also revealed that viruses and proteins of immune system share the same structure. One plausibl...Evidence of 600-million-year old fungi-algae symbiosis discovered in marine fossils
Researchers from China and the United States have found evidence of lichen-like symbiosis in 600-million-year-old fossils from South China. The previous earliest evidence of lichen was 400 million years old, discovered in Scotland. The discovery also adds to the scarce fossil record of fungi and raises new questions about lichen evolution. Xunlai Yuan, a paleontologist with the Nanjing Ins...Virginia Tech, Nanjing Institute researchers discover half-billion year-old fossils
Scientists interested in ancient life have a wealth of fossils and impressions frozen in rocks that they can study from as far back as 540 million years ago ?when animals with shells and bones began to become plentiful. But evidence of complex life older than 540 million years is scant and difficult to study. Now, a research team from Virginia Tech in the United States and Nanjing Institut...