A revolutionary study from the University of Liverpool has upended fundamental assumptions about the fossilization process, potentially transforming how scientists approach the study of ancient life.

Explore the simulated fossilization process that helps paleontologists create realistic artificial fossils to unlock nature's secrets. The project began when paleontologist Evan Saitta decided that he ...

“A DNA strand, like me, is a blueprint for building a living thing” says the anthropomorphic double-helix Mr. DNA at the beginning of 1993’s Jurassic Park, “...And sometimes, animals that went extinct ...

For many years, it was widely believed that fossils no longer contained any original organic molecules as the fossilization process was thought to destroy them. Now, a groundbreaking study, led by the ...

A pilot study from North Carolina State University shows that nanoscopic 3-D imaging of ancient bone not only provides further insight into the changes soft tissues undergo during fossilization, it ...

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment. Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the ...

The minerals involved in the fossilization of ancient life can have a dramatic effect on how that fossil turns out. They might be opalized or rainbow-colored, or perhaps glittering like an ornate lump ...

Most animals and plants never fossilize. For those that do, it's usually only hard parts such as bones and shells that preserve. However, in some exceptional cases, soft tissues such as muscles and ...

It’s frustrating and gross, but we’ve all done it. We’ve all stepped in poop. Most of us would like to forget the experience. But 33 million years ago, now-extinct life forms stepped in it, and ...

Paleontologists have long studied the fossilized remains of animals from the Cambrian period, a time when many major groups of animals began to evolve. However, finding delicate, soft-bodied embryos ...

The Ediacara Biota are some of the strangest fossils ever found—soft-bodied organisms preserved in remarkable detail where preservation shouldn’t be possible. Scientists now think their survival in ...