Paleo in the News

Evolutionary biologists report they have combined PET scans of modern pigeons along with studies of dinosaur fossils to help answer an enduring question in biology: How did the brains of birds evolve to enable them to fly?

DNA analysis of spider webs from two locations in Australia identified dozens of vertebrate species, suggesting a new approach to wildlife monitoring

Calls made by male orangutans to attract females have short sequences nested inside longer sequences – a feature called recursion that was thought to be unique to human language

A previously unknown type of replicating agent named "obelisks” has been found in genomic data from stool samples – but we know little about what these entities do

A new study, which centers on evidence from skulls of a 6-million-year-old fossil ape, Lufengpithecus, offers important clues about the origins of bipedal locomotion courtesy of a novel method: analyzing its bony inner ear region using three-dimensional CT-scanning. The inner ear appears to provide a unique record of the evolutionary history of ape locomotion.

A new study, which centers on evidence from skulls of a 6-million-year-old fossil ape, Lufengpithecus, offers important clues about the origins of bipedal locomotion courtesy of a novel method: analyzing its bony inner ear region using three-dimensional CT-scanning. The inner ear appears to provide a unique record of the evolutionary history of ape locomotion.

Drone footage filmed off the coast of California shows a 1.5-metre-long, entirely white great white shark pup, probably just hours old – something that has never been seen before

Experiments with a robotic dinosaur suggest feathers may have evolved to startle prey into fleeing from hiding places, a strategy used by some modern birds

Antechinus males only live for one breeding season, so they give up 3 hours of sleep a night during this short period before dying of exhaustion

Owls are famously good at rotating their heads, but now anatomical findings suggest they really could go a full 360 degrees without injuring themselves

Three fossils of Pachycormus fish from the dinosaur era feature smaller members of the same species in their guts - perhaps showing how the animals got by when food was scarce

DNA from ancient feces can offer archaeologists new clues about the life and health of Japanese people who lived thousands of years ago, according to a new study.

DNA from ancient feces can offer archaeologists new clues about the life and health of Japanese people who lived thousands of years ago, according to a new study.

The brown bear is one of the largest living terrestrial carnivores, and is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike many other large carnivores that went extinct at the end of the last Ice Age (cave bear, sabretoothed cats, cave hyena), the brown bear is one of the lucky survivors that made it through to the present. The question has puzzled biologists for close to a century -- how was this so?

The brown bear is one of the largest living terrestrial carnivores, and is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike many other large carnivores that went extinct at the end of the last Ice Age (cave bear, sabretoothed cats, cave hyena), the brown bear is one of the lucky survivors that made it through to the present. The question has puzzled biologists for close to a century -- how was this so?

Microorganisms were the first forms of life on our planet. The clues are written in 3.5 billion-year-old rocks by geochemical and morphological traces, such as chemical compounds or structures that these organisms left behind. However, it is still not clear when and where life originated on Earth and when a diversity of species developed in these early microbial communities. Evidence is scarce and often disputed. Now, researchers have uncovered key findings about the earliest forms of life. In rock samples from South Africa, they found evidence dating to around 3.42 billion years ago of an unprecedentedly diverse carbon cycle involving various microorganisms. This research shows that complex microbial communities already existed in the ecosystems during the Palaeoarchaean period.

Fungi exposed to acoustic stimulation in lab experiments have faster growth rates, suggesting a possible way to speed up composting and restore habitats

Satellite images have helped to locate four previously unknown colonies of emperor penguins in the Antarctic. One of the colonies has over 5000 members

The Alf Museum’s Collections Manager, Bailey Jorgensen, and Lab Manager, Jared Heuck, both received project grants from professional societies last fall to fund collaborative research projects. Jorgensen received Outreach and Education grants from both the Paleontological Society and the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology, and Heuck was selected for the Marvin and Beth Hix Preparator’s Grant from the Society of Vertebrate paleontology.

Jorgensen’s grants will be used to fund her “Paleo-robotics” project, where she plans to use an underwater ROV to identify and digitally prospect underwater fossil localities in California while also teaching students of The Webb Schools the latest in digital paleontological techniques.

“The goal of this project is to develop a paleontological field experience in tandem with the Paleontology Program and the Robotics After-School Program at The Webb Schools. The students, under supervision, will build and deploy a small shallow water ROV with camera capabilities to do digital prospecting of the underwater environment at local California lakes, where previous research has identified now-submerged localities containing fossils,” commented Jorgensen. “This project is exciting because it is interdisciplinary and gives both robotics and paleontology students the opportunity to collaborate and try something new.”

Jorgensen started at the Alf Museum in 2017 as an outreach and collections assistant and was promoted to Collections Manager in 2022. In her time at the Alf Museum, she was been essential ensuring that our collections are cared for with the latest museum standards while also working with Webb students across many projects. For the “Paleo-robotics” project, Jorgensen is collaborating with the Alf Museum’s curator, Dr. Mairin Balisi, and Webb faculty, Maria Suarez and Andrew Hamilton, as part of Webb’s “Unbounded Days” program that connects the classroom and the broader world. Work has started on construction of the underwater ROV. Jorgensen and team plan to begin their first phase of underwater prospecting in the San Jacinto Valley in late Winter 2024.

For Heuck, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s Marvin and Beth Hix Grant is intended to further the field of vertebrate paleontology through the advancement of fossil preparation. As Lab Manager, Heuck mentors many students from The Webb Schools in fossil preparation through the Paleontology After-School Program and is often a collaborator on student projects. Funds from the Hix grant were used to further the project of Webb senior, Connor Keeney, who is studying Pleistocene-aged insects preserved in asphalt with Dr. Mairin Balisi as part of the Advanced Studies in Paleontology class. Both Heuck and Keeney are interested in learning how to better prepare such insects. With the Hix grant funds, both spent a week working with scientists at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum to learn from their scientists how to prepare specimens preserved in asphalt.

On the importance of this project, Heuck says “Insects are excellent indicators of climate and environment, but the process of preparing insects preserved in asphalt is largely unexplored. Preparing and identifying the asphaltic insects at the Alf Museum will illuminate the climate trends that existed during a dynamic period of faunal change in Southern California.”

Heuck started at the Alf Museum as a volunteer in 2015, hired as a full-time fossil preparator in 2018, and promoted to Preparation Lab Manager in 2023. Heuck is also active in supporting other student projects in the museum and across Webb’s campus, including work with the Webb Native Plant Society.

Growing up at a different temperature seems to transform common prey bacteria into predators, suggesting that bacterial ecology is more fluid than we thought