New Scientist - 14.09.2019

14 September 2019 | New Scientist | 7

Palaeontology

Michael Marshall

A JURASSIC turtle seems to have
been squashed flat before it
was fossilised, possibly because
a giant dinosaur trod on it.
The marine turtle fossil was
found in 2007 in Switzerland
and dates from about 155 million
years ago. This was the late
Jurassic period, when huge,
long-necked sauropod dinosaurs
dominated the land.
Most turtles from the time are
found in marine sediments, but
this one was on land. “It’s like a
tidal flat, where we mostly found
dinosaur prints and tracks,” says
palaeontologist Christian Püntener,
who was employed by the
Republic and Canton of the Jura
in Switzerland to study local
fossils. Finding the turtle there
is significant, he says, because
previously there was no hard
evidence that Jurassic marine
turtles ventured onto land.
The turtle was on its back, which
suggests it had become stuck on
the tidal flat and died there, says
Püntener. It isn’t known what it
was doing there. One possibility
is that it came ashore to lay eggs,
as marine turtles do today, but it is
unclear whether the animal was
male or female. If the tidal flat
was a nursery, there ought to be
more turtle fossils.
However, the most striking thing
about the turtle is the state of the
fossil. Most of it is unusually flat.
Seen from the side, a big chunk
of it is visibly lower than the rest
in the rocks. This suggests a heavy
weight crushed much of the shell.
The rock layers in which it was
found also contain many dinosaur
footprints. The lowered part of
the turtle fossil is 7.5 centimetres
below the rest, which is about
the depth of the dinosaur tracks,
meaning a huge, long-necked
sauropod may have trodden on
the turtle’s corpse after its death
(PaleorXiv, doi.org/c99s). ❚

Jurassic turtle may

have been trodden

on by giant dinosaur

STATE governments in the

US are cracking down on

e-cigarettes, after three deaths

were attributed to vaping-

related lung conditions.

Here’s what you need to know.

How did these deaths occur?

In July, an Illinois resident

developed a lung infection

and died after using a vaping

device that contained

marijuana oil. Then, on 5 and

6 September, two deaths were

confirmed in Oregon and

Indiana involving vaping and

respiratory problems.

It isn’t clear how these

problems led to the deaths.

It could be that something

either in the e-cigarette or

the substances smoked

through them caused

inflammation of the lungs.

Has anyone else been ill?

The US Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC)

says that as of 6 September, 450

possible cases of vaping-related

severe lung disease have been

reported by 33 states. In addition

to three deaths, this multistate

outbreak includes people who

have reported coughs, shortness

of breath, chest pain, fever,

fatigue, nausea, vomiting and

diarrhoea. Some people turn up

to hospital with symptoms that

look like pneumonia, and have

been put on ventilators or

treated in intensive care units.

Do we know whether these

symptoms are caused by vaping?

We aren’t certain, but there

could be a connection. In each

of these cases, people reported

using e-cigarettes. But no single

product or substance has been

associated with all the illnesses.

Ann Thomas, a public health

physician in Oregon, said in

a statement that we don’t yet

know the exact cause of these

illnesses, or whether they

are due to ingredients in the

vaping liquid, contaminants

or the devices themselves.

One potential cause has

been identified by the US Food

and Drug Administration.

An oil derived from vitamin E

was found in nearly all vaped

cannabis samples from people

who fell ill in New York. But that

oil wasn’t found in tests of the

nicotine products that had

been used by others who also

had lung problems after vaping.

So are e-cigarettes dangerous?

We simply don’t know.

Some research has shown

that vaping is less harmful

than smoking traditional

cigarettes, but using

e-cigarettes still carries risk.

“Vaping exposes users

to many different substances

for which we have little

information about related

harms – including flavourings,

nicotine, cannabinoids, and

solvents,” said CDC director

Robert Redfield in a statement.

What is happening now?

Public health departments

in some US states are

urging people to stop using

any kind of vaping device

immediately. On 4 September, 

Michigan became the first

US state to ban flavoured

e-cigarettes.

Are these illnesses a concern

in the UK?

The UK regulates e-cigarettes

that contain nicotine more

tightly than the US. “Advice

to discourage people from

vaping legal, regulated e-liquids

appears to be unwarranted

and risks pushing people back

to smoking,” said Sarah Jackson

at University College London

in a statement. ❚

CHRISTIAN HORZ/EYEEM/GETTY

E-cigarettes can help

people quit smoking, but

their risks are uncertain

Concern over vaping deaths

Briefing E-cigarettes

Three people have died and hundreds have become

seriously ill after vaping. Chelsea Whyte reports

“ We don’t know if the

illnesses are due to

ingredients, contaminants

or the vaping devices”