Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 6 views

    Dino-Bird Dandruff Research Head and Shoulders Above Rest

    Uploaded by

    sashina
    A team of researchers studied fossilized dandruff from feathered dinosaurs and early birds using electron microscopes. They found that the nanostructure of the fossil dandruff was nearly identical to that of modern birds, with spiral twisting of individual keratin fibers still visible. This suggests skin shedding in flakes evolved sometime in the late Middle Jurassic period, when many skin features of feathered dinosaurs and early birds were rapidly evolving. The discovery of dandruff provides the first evidence that dinosaurs shed their skin in flakes like modern birds and mammals, rather than as a single piece like many modern reptiles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Dino-Bird Dandruff Research Head and Shoulders Above Rest

    Uploaded by

    sashina
    6 views1 page
    A team of researchers studied fossilized dandruff from feathered dinosaurs and early birds using electron microscopes. They found that the nanostructure of the fossil dandruff was nearly identical to that of modern birds, with spiral twisting of individual keratin fibers still visible. This suggests skin shedding in flakes evolved sometime in the late Middle Jurassic period, when many skin features of feathered dinosaurs and early birds were rapidly evolving. The discovery of dandruff provides the first evidence that dinosaurs shed their skin in flakes like modern birds and mammals, rather than as a single piece like many modern reptiles.

    Original Description:

    science

    Original Title

    Dino

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    A team of researchers studied fossilized dandruff from feathered dinosaurs and early birds using electron microscopes. They found that the nanostructure of the fossil dandruff was nearly identical to that of modern birds, with spiral twisting of individual keratin fibers still visible. This suggests skin shedding in flakes evolved sometime in the late Middle Jurassic period, when many skin features of feathered dinosaurs and early birds were rapidly evolving. The discovery of dandruff provides the first evidence that dinosaurs shed their skin in flakes like modern birds and mammals, rather than as a single piece like many modern reptiles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    6 views1 page

    Dino-Bird Dandruff Research Head and Shoulders Above Rest

    Uploaded by

    sashina
    A team of researchers studied fossilized dandruff from feathered dinosaurs and early birds using electron microscopes. They found that the nanostructure of the fossil dandruff was nearly identical to that of modern birds, with spiral twisting of individual keratin fibers still visible. This suggests skin shedding in flakes evolved sometime in the late Middle Jurassic period, when many skin features of feathered dinosaurs and early birds were rapidly evolving. The discovery of dandruff provides the first evidence that dinosaurs shed their skin in flakes like modern birds and mammals, rather than as a single piece like many modern reptiles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    Dino-bird dandruff research head and shoulders above

    rest

    UCC's Dr Maria McNamara and her team studied the fossil cells, and dandruff from modern birds, with
    powerful electron microscopes for the study, published today in the journal Nature Communications.
    "The fossil cells are preserved with incredible detail -- right down to the level of nanoscale keratin fibrils.
    What's remarkable is that the fossil dandruff is almost identical to that in modern birds -- even the spiral
    twisting of individual fibres is still visible," said Dr Maria McNamara.
    Just like human dandruff, the fossil dandruff is made of tough cells called corneocytes, which in life are dry
    and full of the protein keratin.
    The study suggests that this modern skin feature evolved sometime in the late Middle Jurassic, around the
    same time as a host of other skin features evolved. "There was a burst of evolution of feathered dinosaurs and
    birds at this time, and it's exciting to see evidence that the skin of early birds and dinosaurs was evolving
    rapidly in response to bearing feathers," Dr McNamara added.
    Dr McNamara led the study, in collaboration with her postdoctoral researcher Dr Chris Rogers; Dr Andre
    Toulouse and Tara Foley, also from UCC; Dr Paddy Orr from UCD, Ireland; and an international team of
    palaeontologists from the UK and China.
    The dandruff is the first evidence of how dinosaurs shed their skin. The feathered dinosaurs studied --
    Microraptor, Beipiaosaurus and Sinornithosaurus -- clearly shed their skin in flakes, like the early bird
    Confuciusornis studied by the team and also modern birds and mammals, and not as a single piece or several
    large pieces, as in many modern reptiles.
    Co-author Professor Mike Benton, from the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, said: "It's unusual
    to be able to study the skin of a dinosaur, and the fact this is dandruff proves the dinosaur was not shedding its
    whole skin like a modern lizard or snake but losing skin fragments from between its feathers."
    Modern birds have very fatty corneocytes with loosely packed keratin, which allows them to cool down
    quickly when they are flying for extended periods. The corneocytes in the fossil dinosaurs and birds, however,
    were packed with keratin, suggesting that the fossils didn't get as warm as modern birds, presumably because
    they couldn't fly at all or for as long periods.

    You might also like