BIOLOGYThe delicate, spindly strands pictured below
are blood vessels belonging to a hadrosaur
that roamed the Earth 80 million years ago.
The vessels were extracted from the leg
bone of a Brachylophosaurus canadensis, a
9m-long duck-billed dinosaur that lived in
what is now Montana, USA, by researchers
from North Carolina State University. They
then analysed the tissue using a high-
resolution mass spectrometer and discovered
several of the proteins that make up the cells
of blood vessels.
“This study is the first direct analysis of
blood vessels from an extinct organism and
provides us with an opportunity to understandDINOSAUR VEINS FOUND
IN 80-MILLION-YEAR-OLD
FOSSIL FROM MONTANA
“This is the
first direct
analysis of
the blood
vessels of
an extinct
organism”
RISING SEA
LEVELS
ARE SLOWING
DOWN EARTH’S
ROTATION
So suggests a study
conducted by Harvard
University. The effect is
due to a shift in mass from
the poles to the equator
as ice melts, but it poses
no threat to the planet, the
researchers reassure.AMERICANS’
TEETH
ARE NOT IN
BETTER
CONDITION THAN
THOSE OF BRITS
A study of 9,000 Brits
and 10,000 Americans
carried out at University
College London has found
that there’s actually
little difference in the
state of their gnashers,
contradicting the belief of
superior US dentistry.A FULL SOCIAL
LIFE COULD BE
JUST AS
IMPORTANT
AS DIET AND
EXERCISE
Researchers from the
University of North
Carolina have found
a link between social
relationships and
measures of well-being,
such as high blood
pressure and obesity.ALLERGIES
COULD
COME FROM
NEANDERTHALS
A study by Germany’s
Max Planck Institute has
found that three genes
thought to originate from
Neanderthals cause
the immune system to
overreact to stimuli such
as dust and pollen.WHAT WE
LEARNED
THIS MONTHPHOTOS: GETTY, MARY SCHWEITZER/NC STATE UNIVERSITY
ATHE BLOOD VESSELS FOUND IN THE LEG BONE OF A HADROSAUR MAY HELP
TO SHED LIGHT ON THE EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SPECIES
what kinds of proteins and tissues can persist and
how they change during fossilisation,” said
researcher Tim Cleland.
The researchers subsequently confirmed
their results by performing the exact same
process with bones from modern
archosaurs, such as chickens and ostriches,
which are relatives of the dinosaurs. In both
the modern and ancient samples, the
sequences of amino acids – the building
blocks of proteins – matched those found in
blood vessels.
“This will provide new avenues for pursuing
questions regarding the evolutionary relationships
of extinct organisms,” said Cleland.Update
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