Fossils

Fossils

Parasites wormed their way into dino’s gut

Tiny burrows crisscross the stomach of a 77-million-year-old dinosaur fossil. These may be tracks left behind by slimy parasitic worms.

Fossils

Identifying ancient trees from their amber

A Swedish teen’s analyses of a sample of amber may have uncovered a previously unknown type of ancient tree.

Fossils

Baby titanosaur was a mini version of its parents

Fossils show that baby titanosaurs looked like mom and dad. They may have been active and independent from a young age.

Fossils

How to tell if a T. rex is expecting

A chemical test of tyrannosaur bone can determine whether the dino was pregnant — and therefore a female.

Fossils

Neandertal toe contains human DNA

DNA from a 50,000-year-old Neandertal woman’s toe bone shows humans left a mark on the ancient species — and much earlier than scientists had thought.

Animals

Roadkill : Learning from the dead

Roadkill can be more than a smooshed-up carcass. Scientists study these highway casualties to learn more about wildlife and their environments.

Animals

Picture This: Plesiosaurs swam like penguins

A computer model suggests plesiosaurs — ancient marine reptiles — swam like penguins, using front flippers for power and back flippers for steering.

Earth

Bubbles may have sheltered Earth’s early life

For Earth’s earliest inhabitants, a bubble on the beach would have been the next best thing to a safety blanket.

Fossils

Predatory dinos were truly big-mouths

Large meat-eating dinosaurs could open their mouths wide to grab big prey. Vegetarians would have had a more limited gape, a new study suggests.

Microbes

Fossils show sign of ancient vampire microbes

Scientists have found 750-million-year-old fossils of cells with puncture wounds. This appears to offer evidence that vampirelike creatures sucked them dry.

Fossils

Clues to the Great Dying

Millions of years ago, nearly all life on Earth vanished. Scientists are now starting to figure out what happened.

Fossils

This prehistoric meat eater preferred surf to turf

For years, paleontologists thought the fierce, sharp-toothed Dimetrodon made a meal of land-based plant eaters. Not anymore. New fossils suggest aquatic animals were its meals of choice.