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A wooded ecosystem with mammoths alongside modern species such as arctic hares
2.4 Million-Year-Old DNA Is Oldest Ever Recovered
The DNA fragments collected from permafrost in northern Greenland unlock insights into an ancient ecosystem.
2.4 Million-Year-Old DNA Is Oldest Ever Recovered
2.4 Million-Year-Old DNA Is Oldest Ever Recovered

The DNA fragments collected from permafrost in northern Greenland unlock insights into an ancient ecosystem.

The DNA fragments collected from permafrost in northern Greenland unlock insights into an ancient ecosystem.

paleontology

Drawing of fish with internal anatomy.
Researchers Visualize Heart From 380-Million-Year-Old Fish
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Sep 15, 2022 | 4 min read
A team of researchers in Australia have imaged fossilized soft organs of early jawed vertebrates for the first time, finding that our ancient fish ancestors’ hearts, livers, and stomachs are strikingly similar to ours.
Artist&rsquo;s rendition of <em>Meraxes gigas</em>&rsquo;s head
Caught on Camera
The Scientist | Sep 12, 2022 | 2 min read
See some of the coolest images recently featured by The Scientist
orange tiny frog
Caught on Camera
The Scientist | Aug 15, 2022 | 2 min read
See some of the coolest images recently featured by The Scientist
Dinosaur Fossil (Tyrannosaurus Rex) Found by Archaeologists
Are We in the Midst of a Sixth Mass Extinction?
Katarina Zimmer | Jul 18, 2022 | 10+ min read
Today’s extinction rates are sky-high. But scientists debate if that’s sufficient evidence to conclude that Earth is undergoing a mass extinction event—or whether that’s even a helpful designation.
Illustration of creatures from today&rsquo;s crisis
Infographic: A Look at the Big Five Mass Extinctions
Katarina Zimmer | Jul 18, 2022 | 4 min read
Extinction is a natural part of life on Earth. But occasionally, extinction rates have surged far beyond usual levels, driving mass extinction events that have reshaped the trajectory of life.
T. rex-like dinosaur head covered in knobby structures
The Dino That Looked T. Rex-y Long Before T. Rex 
Shawna Williams | Jul 7, 2022 | 2 min read
Fossil findings shed light on a little-known group of Cretaceous-era beasts—and indicate that the combination of a large head and diminutive arms was no evolutionary fluke.
A yellow-orange, translucent artist&#39;s rendition of a yunnanozoan, an ancient wormlike fish, that highlights the arches that make up its cartilage skeleton.
This Simple Fish May Have Been One of the First Vertebrates
Dan Robitzski | Jul 7, 2022 | 5 min read
A fossil analysis suggests that the yunnanozoan, a wormlike fish that flourished around 520 million years ago, sported structures that were the precursors of the head and jaws of modern vertebrates.
Composite image of earliest humans and wooly mammoths
New Evidence Complicates the Story of the Peopling of the Americas
Emma Yasinski | May 2, 2022 | 10+ min read
New techniques have shown that people reached the New World far earlier than the long-standing estimate of 13,000 years ago, but scientists still debate exactly when humans arrived on the continent—and how.
Illustrated map showing where evidence was found of the earliest humans
Infographic: Mixed Evidence on Human Occupation of the Americas
Emma Yasinski | May 2, 2022 | 3 min read
Diverse lines of evidence point to humans’ presence in the New World long before the dawn of Clovis culture. But rewriting this chapter of human history raises many questions about how these early people came to inhabit these continents.
Drawing of white squid-like animal in blue water
Ten-Limbed Octopus Ancestor Described, Named After Biden
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Mar 10, 2022 | 3 min read
Octopuses were around 82 million years earlier than scientists previously thought—and had two extra limbs at the time.
A fossilized skeleton of an ancient crocodile-like organism that lived in what’s now Brazil.
Q&A: Paleontology’s Colonial Legacy
Dan Robitzski | Mar 3, 2022 | 8 min read
Archaeologist and paleontologist Juan Carlos Cisneros tells The Scientist that researchers frequently fail to involve local groups—and sometimes violate laws—when studying Latin American fossils.
An artistic rendering of a dinosaur fleeing a wall of water
Cretaceous Meteor That Killed Most Life on Earth Hit in Spring
Amanda Heidt | Feb 24, 2022 | 5 min read
Researchers determined the season during which the meteor struck by studying the bones of fish excavated from a contentious field site.
Reconstruction of an indeterminate theropod running on lacustrine sediments during low water timespan
Car-Sized, Meat-Eating Dinosaur Could Run Faster Than Usain Bolt
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Dec 10, 2021 | 3 min read
A new analysis of fossil footprints suggests that the 2-meter-tall, 4- to 5-meter-long carnivores that left them could run nearly 45 kilometers per hour, bolstering the evidence that at least some dinosaurs were speedy, agile hunters.
Caudipteryx Dinosaur Flock stock photo
Paleontologists Find Possible Dinosaur DNA
Chloe Tenn | Oct 26, 2021 | 3 min read
A report of preserved fragments of nuclei and chromatin in a fossilized femur of a 125-million-year-old Caudipteryx dinosaur elicits skepticism.
Megalodon from prehistoric times scene 3D illustration
Classroom Science Leads to Revision of Megalodon’s Size
Connor Lynch | Sep 1, 2021 | 5 min read
A handful of high schoolers prompt scientists to develop a new approach for calculating the size of the ancient behemoth.
More Images
An artist's depiction of a new species of Homo, H. longi
“Dragon Man” May Replace Neanderthal as Our Closest Relative
Amanda Heidt | Jun 25, 2021 | 8 min read
A massive, well-preserved skull discovered in China in the 1930s belongs to a new species called Homo longi, researchers report, but experts remain skeptical about the evidence.
Seqenenre pharaoh egypt mummy ct scan paleoradiology hyksos murder
Scientists Reconstruct Warrior Pharaoh’s Murder Using CT Scans
Stephenie Livingston | Feb 17, 2021 | 3 min read
A forensic investigation of Seqenenre Taa II’s traumatic injuries suggests he died with his hands tied behind his back, perhaps the end result of fighting to liberate his kingdom.
Conch Horn Finds Its Song Again After 17,000 Years
Lisa Winter | Feb 10, 2021 | 1 min read
Listen to a musicologist blow through the oldest known shell horn.
Unearthed: World’s Oldest Animal Sperm—And It’s Giant
Max Kozlov | Dec 1, 2020 | 2 min read
The sperm, belonging to a tiny marine crustacean, dates back nearly 100 million years, making it the most ancient animal sperm found to date.
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