Scientists Discover T-Rex Dinosaur's Soft Tissue

User rating: 4.1 / 5 after 9 vote(s)

Conventional wisdom among paleontologists states that when dinosaurs died and became fossilized, soft tissues didn’t preserve – the bones were essentially transformed into “rocks” through a gradual replacement of all organic material by minerals. New research by a North Carolina State University paleontologist, however, could literally turn that theory inside out.
Dr. Mary Schweitzer, assistant professor of paleontology with a joint appointment at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, has succeeded in isolating soft tissue from the femur of a 68-million-year-old dinosaur. Not only is the tissue largely intact, it’s still transparent and pliable, and microscopic interior structures resembling blood vessels and even cells are still present.


Full story »

All News summaries from General Science news
All News summaries for March 24, 2005

Bangladesh university offers counselling for 'betrayed' lovers

4 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Bangladesh's biggest university will appoint psychiatrists for students to counter a growing number of suicides by "betrayed" lovers, its acting chief said Monday.

Want to fly? Don't copy the birds and the bees

7 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Since earliest recorded history, and presumably beyond, humans have always wanted to fly. First attempts involved imitation of winged creatures around them, and unfailingly ended in disaster.

Ancient royal burial ground found in Egypt: report

7 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Archaeologists have uncovered ancient wooden coffins in what appears to be a royal burial ground near the necropolis of Abydos in southern Egypt, the state-run MENA news agency reported on Saturday.

Panda moved after China quake gives birth to twins

7 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(AP) -- A panda who was relocated after China's deadly earthquake damaged her home gave birth to twin cubs on Sunday, a state news agency said.

1,700-year old remains unearthed in Peru tomb

Jul 05, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
A Canadian-led team of archaeologists has unearthed the 1,700 year-old tomb of a leader of the pre-Columbian Moche culture in northern Peru, the scientists said.