A new study in PNAS uses historical and ecological data to examine the rise and fall of Piast Poland, investigating the factors necessary for the emergence and sustainability of state-run social-ecological intensification Understanding the acceleration of human impacts on the environment is key to addressing the complex planetary and social challenges of the Anthropocene. But even as the inter-relatedness of environmental, political, and social processes becomes clearer, the conditions that produce sustainable outcomes remain little understood. Now, a new study…
New site contains over 130 footprints and trackways up to 12-meters-long Jurassic dinosaurs milled about ancient Scottish lagoons, leaving up to 131 footprints at a newly discovered stomping ground on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, according to a study published April 2, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Tone Blakesley of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and colleagues. In the rocks of the Isle of Skye, dinosaur footprints are abundant, providing insights into dinosaur distribution and behavior…
A nearly complete specimen of Plesiopterys wildi from Germany provides fresh insights into plesiosaur diversity and regional specialization A newly described plesiosaur fossil from southern Germany is providing crucial evidence about the diversification of these ancient marine reptiles during the Early Jurassic. Published in PeerJ Life and Environment, the study details the discovery and analysis of an exceptionally well-preserved Plesiopterys wildi specimen, which offers new clues about the evolution and geographic distribution of plesiosaurs in Europe nearly 180 million years…
Study from University of Leicester describes a new species of fossil that is 444 million years-old with soft insides perfectly preserved A new species of fossil from 444 million years ago that has perfectly preserved insides has been affectionately named ‘Sue’ after its discoverer’s mum. The result of 25 years of work by a University of Leicester palaeontologist and published in the journal Palaeontology, the study details a new species of multisegmented fossil and is now officially named as Keurbos…
An extinct lineage of parasitic wasps dating from the mid-Cretaceous period and preserved in amber may have used their Venus flytrap-like abdomen to capture and immobilise their prey. Research, published in BMC Biology, finds that the specimens of Sirenobethylus charybdis — named for the sea monster in Greek mythology which swallowed and disgorged water three times a day — date from almost 99 million years ago and may represent a new family of insects. The morphology of S. charybdis indicates the wasps were parasitoids — insects whose larvae…
UNIGE scientists reveal the key role of specific genes in feather development, providing insights into their evolution from dinosaurs. Feathers are among the most complex cutaneous appendages in the animal kingdom. While their evolutionary origin has been widely debated, paleontological discoveries and developmental biology studies suggest that feathers evolved from simple structures known as proto-feathers. These primitive structures, composed of a single tubular filament, emerged around 200 million years ago in certain dinosaurs. Paleontologists continue to discuss the possibility of…
A University of Queensland researcher has confirmed a boulder at a regional school contains one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints per square metre ever documented in Australia. Dr Anthony Romilio from UQ’s Dinosaur Lab has identified 66 fossilised footprints left in the Callide Basin in Central Queensland during the Early Jurassic period, around 200 million years ago. “The footprints are from 47 individual dinosaurs which passed across a patch of wet, white clay, possibly walking along or crossing…
Far-reaching genetic ties between the Mongolian steppe and Central Europe under Hun rule The Huns suddenly appeared in Europe in the 370s, establishing one of the most influential although short-lived empires in Europe. Scholars have long debated whether the Huns were descended from the Xiongnu. In fact, the Xiongnu Empire dissolved around 100 CE, leaving a 300-year gap before the Huns appeared in Europe. Can DNA lineages that bridge these three centuries be found? To address this question, researchers analyzed…
Tapping into ‘society’s archive’, researchers have examined written sources from the 16th century that chronicle famine, excessive flooding, and plagues in what today is Romania Glaciers, sediments, and pollen can be used to reconstruct the climate of the past. Beyond ‘nature’s archive,’, other sources, such as diaries, travel notes, parish or monastery registers, and other written documents – known at the ‘society’s archive’ – contain reports and observations about local climates in bygone centuries. In contrast, the second half of…
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