Ian Randall | 31 March 2010
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A new species from the terminal Ediacaran, Cloudina carinata, has been discovered in Spain. The tubular fossil, described in a recent issue of the journal Precambrian Research, lived between 550 and 543 million years ago and was one of the first animals to leave behind evidence of reproduction.
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Category: Cambrian, Evolutionary Biology, Geology, Palaeontology |
1 Comment »
Tags: 550 Ma, Asexual reproduction, Cambrian Explosion, Cloudina carinata, Ediacaran, Fossil, Precambrian Research, Spain
Ian Randall | 18 March 2010
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Sea urchins have been dining off of crinoids for over 200 million years, forcing some crinoids – the sea lilies – to evolve the means to flee across the sea floor to safety, new research has shown. The study, led by the University of Michigan, is being published online in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Category: Evolutionary Biology, Invertebrate Palaeontology, Palaeontology |
No Comments »
Tags: Crinoids, MMR, PNAS, Predation, Prey, Sea Urchins, Triassic, University of Michigan
Ian Randall | 15 March 2010
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The description of a new carnivorous amphibian, Fedexia striegeli, has provided the earliest evidence of widespread terrestrial invertebrates. The discovery, which is being published in today’s issue of Annals of Carnegie Museum, is around 20 million years older than its fellow land based amphibians.
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Category: Evolutionary Biology, Palaeontology, Vertebrate Palaeontology |
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Tags: 300 Ma, Amphibian, Carneige Museum of Natural History, Fedexia striegeli, Fossil, New discovery, Palaeontology, Pennyslyvania
Ian Randall | 14 March 2010
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Biologists have described the genome sequence of the ancient cnidarian, Hydra, in today’s online issue of the journal Nature. Hydra, a freshwater polyp, has been used for research for many centuries, and continues to this day to shed light on regeneration, stem cells and the origins of animal vision.
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Category: Evolutionary Biology, Invertebrate Palaeontology |
No Comments »
Tags: Alzheimer’s disease, Biology, Cnidarian, genome sequencing, Huntington's Disease, Hydra, Nature, UC Irvine
Ian Randall | 14 March 2010
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Research on an ancient group of sea creatures has thrown light on the nature of human vision. Findings of the study of Hydra, by biologists at UC Santa Barbara, are published in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
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Category: Evolutionary Biology, Invertebrate Palaeontology |
No Comments »
Tags: Cnidaria, Evolution, Gene, Hydra, Ion Channel, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, UC Santa Barbara, Vision
Ian Randall | 11 March 2010
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Students who recognise the Earth as being 4.5 billion years old are more likely to appreciate the concept of human evolution, research has revealed. The study by the University of Minnesota, published in this months’ issue of Evolution, could lead to the formation of a new approach to biology in US schools.
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Category: Evolutionary Biology, Geology |
2 Comments »
Tags: Age of the Earth, Biology, Creationism, Education, Evolution, Evolution (Journal), United States, University of Minnsota
Ian Randall | 5 March 2010
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Sea ice reached as far as the equator during the Sturtian glaciation, 716.5 million years ago, geologists have determined.
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Category: Evolutionary Biology, Geology, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeontology |
No Comments »
Tags: Animals, Canada, Cryogenian, Eukaryotes, Glaciation, Harvard, Snowball Earth, Sturtian