First orchid fossil puts showy blooms at some 80 million years old

User rating: 4.4 / 5 after 20 vote(s)

This handout photo from Harvard University shows an amber-preserved stingless bee carrying pollinia of Meliorchis caribea the first unambiguous fossil orchid known to science. The bee trapped by a glob of sap inside a come-hither orchid up to 20 mill ...
This handout photo from Harvard University shows an amber-preserved stingless bee carrying pollinia of Meliorchis caribea, the first unambiguous fossil orchid known to science. The bee trapped by a glob of sap inside a come-hither orchid up to 20 million years ago has rewritten the evolutionary tale of a flower with the most fanatical following of any plant in the world.

Biologists at Harvard University have identified the ancient fossilized remains of a pollen-bearing bee as the first hint of orchids in the fossil record, a find they say suggests orchids are old enough to have co-existed with dinosaurs.


Full story »

All News summaries from General Science news
All News summaries for August 29, 2007

Over 200 narwhal trapped in Canadian ice

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
At least 200 narwhal whales in Canada's Arctic, trapped by winter ice that is setting in around them and facing starvation or suffocation, must be culled, officials said Friday.

Scientists identify blood component that turns bacteria virulent

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have discovered the key chemical that signals Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, to become lethal. This finding opens up new avenues of exploration ...

Portuguese dinosaur tail's sale sparks controversy

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
A Portuguese bulldozer driver has sparked controversy in his country by up putting a dinosaur fossil he found 10 years ago for sale on the Internet.

Teens' Online Safety Improved by Education, Research Shows

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Think protecting young teenagers on the Internet is important? Then be sure they think it's important, too, according to a forthcoming article in IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication.

Bulgarian archaeologists unearth ancient chariot

Nov 21, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(AP) -- Archaeologists have unearthed an elaborately decorated 1,800-year-old chariot sheathed in bronze at an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, the head of the excavation said Friday. "The ...