Nearly 100 years ago, the last Tasmanian tiger died, ending the reign of a species that dates back to 1000 BC. Now scientists are looking to bring them back from the dead.
Known as Thylacine, the carnivorous marsupial once roamed the Australian outback before the last known survivor of the striped species died in 1936. Scientists now plan to use genetic technology, ancient DNA collection, and artificial reproduction to bring the tiger back.
“We would strongly advocate that first and foremost we need to protect our biodiversity from further extinctions, but unfortunately we are not seeing a slowing down in species loss,” said Andrew Pask, a professor at the University of Melbourne leading the project at the Thylacine Integrated GeneticRestoration Research Lab.
“This technology offers a chance to correct this and could be applied in exceptional circumstances where cornerstone species have been lost.”
The last Tasmanian Tiger, named Benjamin, went extinct in 1936 not long after his species had been granted a protective status. (Getty Images)
The thylacine project is working with technology investor Ben Lamm’s Colossal Biosciences and Harvard Medical School geneticist George Church. Lamm’s organization has also launched a $15 million project to bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction.
The last living thylacine was named Benjamin and died in 1936 at the Beaumaris Zoo in Tasmania, shortly after the animal species had been given protected status.
The team plans to first design a genome for the tiger and compare it to the dunnart, its closest living relative. Scientists will then use CRISPR gene editing technology to eventually create an embryo.
“We then take living cells from our dunnart and edit their DNA every place where it differs from the thylacine. We are essentially engineering our dunnart cell to become a Tasmanian tiger cell,” Pask claimed.
The researcher concluded, “With this partnership, I now believe that in ten years’ time we could have our first living baby thylacine since they were hunted to extinction close to a century ago.”
The dinosaur leg was reportedly preserved as debris from the impact rained down.
“We’ve got so many details with this site that tell us what happened moment by moment, it’s almost like watching it play out in the movies. You look at the rock column, you look at the fossils there, and it brings you back to that day,” Robert DePalma, the University of Manchester graduate student who leads the Tanis dig in North Dakota, told BBC News on Wednesday.
The network has spent three years filming there for a show that’s set to air in just over a week.
Along with the leg, researchers said they found fish, a fossil turtle, small mammals, skin from a triceratops, the embryo of a flying pterosaur and a fragment from the asteroid.
The network said the remains have been jumbled together, with spherules linked to the impact site off the Yucatan Peninsula.
Particles from tree resin contained inclusions that “imply an extra-terrestrial origin.”
Professor Paul Barrett, from London’s Natural History Museum, looked at the leg and deemed the dinosaur a scaly Thescelosaurus.
The limb, he noted, looks like it was “ripped off really quickly,” suggesting that the creature died “more or less instantaneously.”
The question remains: Did it actually die on the exact day?
One professor told the BBC he wants to see more peer-reviewed articles and additional independent assessments.
“Those fish with the spherules in their gills, they’re an absolute calling card for the asteroid. But for some of the other claims – I’d say they have a lot circumstantial evidence that hasn’t yet been presented to the jury,” professor Steve Brusatte, from the University of Edinburgh, said.
Julia Musto is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find her on Twitter at @JuliaElenaMusto.
The controversial study looked at a dataset of 37 specimens.
The iconic Tyrannosaurus rex, or “T. Rex,” might need to be re-categorized into three distinct species, according to researchers.
The Tyrannosaurus rex is the only recognized species of the group of dinosaurs Tyrannosaurus to date – though previous research has reportedly acknowledged variation across Tyrannosaurs skeletal remains.
In a controversial new study published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal Evolutionary Biology, South Carolina and Maryland paleontologists conducted an analysis of skeletal remains they said reveal physical differences in the femur and other bones and dental structures.
Based on a dataset of 37 specimens, the group looked at the robustness in the femur of 24 specimens and measured the diameter of the base of teeth or space in the gums to assess if specimens had one or two slender teeth resembling incisors.
According to an accompanying release, the scientists observed that the femur varied across specimens, with two times more robust femurs than svelte ones across specimens. Robust femurs were also found in some juvenile specimens and “gracile” femurs were found in some that were full adult size, suggesting that variation is not related to growth.
Dental structure also varied and those with one incisorform tooth were correlated with often having higher femur gracility.
Visitors look at a 67 million year-old skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur, named Trix, during the first day of the exhibition “A T-Rex in Paris” at the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France, June 6, 2018. (REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer)
They explained the Tyrannosaurus specimens “exhibit such a remarkable degree of proportional variations, distributed at different stratigraphic levels, that the pattern favors multiple species at least partly separated by time; ontogenetic and sexual causes being less consistent with the data.”
“Variation in dentary incisiform counts correlate with skeletal robusticity and also appear to change over time,” the authors noted.
28 specimens could be identified in distinct layers of sediment at the Lancian upper Maastrichtian formations in North America – which was estimated to be from between 67.5 to 66 million years ago – and the paleontologists compared Tyrannosaurus specimens with other theropod species found in lower layers of sediment.
Only robust Tyrannosaurus femurs were found in the lower layer of sediment – and variation was not different to that of other theropod species – which the release said indicates that just one species of Tyrannosaurus likely existed at this point.
However, the variation in Tyrannosaurus femur robustness in the top layer of the sediments was higher, suggesting the specimens had physically developed into more distinct forms and other dinosaur species.
“We found that the changes in Tyrannosaurus femurs are likely not related to the sex or age of the specimen,” lead author Gregory Paul said in a statement. “We propose that the changes in the femur may have evolved over time from a common ancestor who displayed more robust femurs to become more gracile in later species. The differences in femur robustness across layers of sediment may be considered distinct enough that the specimens could potentially be considered separate species.”
Based on that evidence, the researchers said three morphotypes – what Science Direct defines as any of a group of different types of individuals of the same species in a population – and two additional species of Tyrannosaurus were “diagnosed” and named.
“One robust species with two small incisors in each dentary appears to have been present initially, followed by two contemporaneous species (one robust and another gracile) both of which had one small incisor in each dentary, suggesting both anagenesis and cladogenesis occurred,” they continued.
Evolution can take place by anagenesis, in which changes occur within a lineage. Whereas, in cladogenesis, a lineage splits into two or more separate lines.
The authors nominated two potential species: “Tyrannosaurus imperator” and “Tyrannosaurus regina.”
Tyrannosaurus imperator relates to specimens found at the lower and middle layers of sediment, with more robust femurs and usually two incisor teeth.
Tyrannosaurus regina is linked to specimens from the upper and possibly middle layers of sediment, with slenderer femurs and one incisor tooth.
The Tyrannosaurus rex was identified in the upper and possibly middle layer of sediment, with more robust femurs and only one incisor tooth.
The authors acknowledged that they cannot rule out that variation is due to extreme individual differences, or atypical sexual dimorphism, rather than separate groups. They also cautioned that the location within sediment layers is not known for some specimens.
Reaction to the study from scientists has been largely skeptical, with some claiming the paper does not have enough evidence to reach its conclusions – and raising concerns over some of the specimens included in the study to National Geographic.
Paul told The New York Times on Feb. 28 that he knows his proposal is provocative.
“I’m aware that there could be a lot of people who aren’t going to be happy about this,” he told the publication. “And, my response to them is: Publish a refutation.”
Julia Musto is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find her on Twitter at @JuliaElenaMusto.
They couldhave been outcasts or criminals, according to researchers
A high-speed rail project led to the gruesome discovery of dozens of decapitated corpses just outside a major metropolis.
United Kingdom archeologists have announced the discovery of about 40 2,000-year-old decapitated corpses buried in an ancient Roman village unearthed during the construction of the HS2 project, an hour northwest of London.
In addition to the ruins of the village, artifacts and ancient coins, they found burial sites for more than 400 people, about 10% of whom had been decapitated. They could have been outcasts or criminals, according to authorities, but the nature of their beheadings was not fully clear.
Roman lead die uncovered during archaeological excavations at Fleet Marston, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Excavations took place during 2021. (HS2)
Some of those had their skulls placed between their legs or at their feet, according to the researchers.
“One interpretation of this burial practice is that it could be the burial of criminals or a type of outcast, although decapitation is well-known elsewhere and appears to have been a normal, albeit marginal, burial rite during the late Roman period,” the HS2 said in a statement over the weekend.
Roman skeleton with head placed between legs uncovered during archaeological excavations at Fleet Marston, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Excavations took place during 2021. (HS2)
Researchers expect to learn more about Britain’s Roman era and how residents once lived there.
“All human remains uncovered will be treated with dignity, care and respect and our discoveries will be shared with the community,” Helen Wass, HS2 Ltd’s head of heritage.
Search teams also discovered ancient pottery, an old lead die, as well as other tools and ornaments.
Roman skeleton with head placed between legs uncovered during archaeological excavations at Fleet Marston, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Excavations took place during 2021. (HS2)
HS2 said that they also found hundreds of ancient coins, suggesting “trade and commerce” in the town, which was situated along a defunct road between the former Roman cities of Verulamium, now St. Albans, and Corinium Dobunnorum, now Cirencester.
The HS2 rail system is a planned cross-country, high-speed line. Since 2018, HS2 has investigated about 100 archeological sites, including the Fleet Marston village.
A team of over 50 archeologists began excavating the site last year, according to the project organizers.
Climate change activists have protested the rail project, demanding the government halt the construction. Last month, London police evicted a group of them from a city park, where they had set up an encampment to demand an end to the project.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to michael.ruiz@fox.com and on Twitter: @mikerreports
Americans consume 15 billion quarts of popcorn per year.
Wednesday is National Popcorn Day, and what better way to celebrate than by learning about the history of the delicious snack?
According to The Popcorn Board, the oldest-known ears of corn that were popped are from about 4,000 years ago and were discovered in current-day New Mexico in 1948 and 1950.
Meanwhile, History.com reported in 2018 that there were traces of popcorn in 1,000-year-old Peruvian tombs.
Popcorn was also significant to the Aztec people for eating, ceremonies and decorations, according to The Popcorn Board.
The snack became a common food in American households by the mid-1800s, according to History.com. Popcorn was popular for late-night snacks by the fire and at picnics, the website reported.
In the 1890s, Charles Cretors created the first popcorn-popping machine, and by 1900, he created a horse-drawn popcorn wagon, which led to mass consumption of the snack, History.com reported.
Popcorn didn’t hit movie theaters until the Great Depression, according to Smithsonian Magazine. In fact, the movie theaters that started selling popcorn were able to survive the Great Depression, while other movie theaters had to close because of poor sales.
The first microwave popcorn bag was patented by General Mills in 1981, according to History.com.
Today, Americans consume 15 billion quarts of popcorn per year, according to The Popcorn Board.
Ann W. Schmidt is a lifestyle reporter and editor for Fox News Digital.
Footage from an NPS webcam shows the geyser erupting as parkgoers look on.
The Giantess Geyser at Yellowstone National Park erupted on Tuesday after six and a half years of dormancy. (National Park Service)
According to the park service website, “infrequent but violent” eruptions characterize Giantess Geyser.
An eruption from the fountain-type geyser can cause the surrounding area to shake from underground steam explosions just before the initial eruptions.
Eruptions may occur twice hourly, and continue for four to 48 hours, according to the NPS.
When the geyser erupts, it typically shoots a stream that is 100-200 feet high.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said Saturday that Giantess Geyser used to erupt more frequently in the past.
The six-year gap between eruptions was the longest since at least the 1980s, but the geyser has had years-long dormant periods before, according to the agency.
“Why geysers turn off and on is something that is not well understood,” the USGS tweeted. “They are very fragile systems.”
Travis Fedschun is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @travfed
Researchers on Monday announced the discovery and diagnosis of an aggressive type of bone cancer in a dinosaur, making it the first known example of a dinosaur afflicted by malignant cancer, according to a study.
The cancer was found in the leg bone of a Centrosaurus, a horned dinosaur that lived 76 to 77 million years ago. Its fossils were previously unearthed in the badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park in Canada’s Alberta province back in 1989, where scientists spotted a badly malformed leg bone they believed to be a healed fracture.
A team of researchers, including David Evans of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and Mark Crowther a hematologist at McMaster University, re-evaluated the bone and determined it was actually osteosarcoma, an aggressive type of bone cancer, according to a study published the journal Lancet Oncology.
“Diagnosis of aggressive cancer like this in dinosaurs has been elusive and requires medical expertise and multiple levels of analysis to properly identify,” Crowther said in a press release by the ROM. “Here, we show the unmistakable signature of advanced bone cancer in 76-million-year-old horned dinosaur — the first of its kind. It’s very exciting.”
Evans said the lower leg bone contained “a massive gnarly tumor larger than an apple.”
The researchers — assembled from a variety of different fields — diagnosed the tumor using high-resolution CT scans, where they observed thin sections under the microscope to assess it at a cellular level.
Scientists approached the diagnosis similar to how they would with an unknown tumor in a human patient.
“We were not only able to demonstrate that the bone tissue showed the hallmarks of osteosarcoma, but that the tumor spiraled through the cortex of bone, discounting its original identification of a healed fracture,” Evans added.
Most tumors occur in soft tissue that doesn’t willingly fossilize, so there is little evidence of cancer in fossil records, according to Reuters.
The study’s findings could establish links between ancient and modern animals and even help scientists learn more about the evolution and genetics of various diseases.
Illustration of two Centrosauruses (Photo by De Agostini via Getty Images/De Agostini via Getty Images)
“Evidence of many other diseases that we share with dinosaurs and other extinct animals may yet be sitting in museum collections in need of re-examination using modern analytical techniques,” the release said.
Tumors were also found in a dinosaur earlier this year, although a malignant cancer diagnosis has yet to be confirmed.
“This finding speaks to the biology of cancer. It is not something novel or new, but probably has occurred since time immemorial and is an expected complication in all animals,” added Crowther, according to the news organization.
“Osteosarcoma generally occurs in rapidly growing bones and as such is found in children and young adults. Presumably, dinosaurs were also at risk because of the fact that they grew at enormous rates,” he continued.
While the Centrosaurus was likely weak from cancer before it died, Evans said the disease may not have killed the dinosaur. The fossil was found in a bonebed containing the remains of hundreds of other Centrosaurus dinosaurs, which suggested that they died in a flood.
“This remarkable find shows that no matter how big or powerful some dinosaurs may seem, they were affected by many of the same diseases we see in humans and other animals today, including cancer,” he added, according to Reuters. “Dinosaurs seem like mythical beasts, but they were living, breathing animals that suffered through horrible injuries and diseases.”
David Aaro is a Reporter at Fox News Digital based in New York City.
Experts have revealed an entire ancient Roman city in Italy through Ground Penetrating Radar technology.
The ancient city of Falerii Novi, which is about 31 miles north of Rome, was mapped using advanced radar technology. By bouncing radio waves off underground objects, the experts gained fresh insight into what the city looked like.
Archaeologists from the University of Cambridge and Ghent University in Belgium, discovered a temple, a bath complex, a market and a public monument, according to a statement. The radar even revealed a complex of water pipes beneath the city.
Falerii Novi, they discovered, was just under half the size of the famous ancient city of Pompeii.
Jupiter’s gate in the walls of Falerii Novi, Lazio, Italy – file photo. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)
The study is published in the journal Antiquity. Experts say that the findings could have major implications for archaeological research.
“The astonishing level of detail which we have achieved at Falerii Novi, and the surprising features that GPR has revealed, suggest that this type of survey could transform the way archaeologists investigate urban sites, as total entities,” said University of Cambridge professor Martin Millett, one of the study’s authors, in the statement.
“We still have so much to learn about Roman urban life and this technology should open up unprecedented opportunities for decades to come,” he added.
Ground Penetrating Radar map of the newly discovered temple in the Roman city of Falerii Novi, Italy. (L. Verdonck)
The Roman Empire continues to reveal its secrets. A sinkhole that recently appeared near the famous Pantheon in Rome, for example, revealed an ancient imperial pavement.
In 2017, in a separate project, archaeologists said that they had found a lost Roman city that was once home to Jesus’ apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip.
Archaeologists from the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology at Kinneret College, Israel and Nyack College in New York, completed excavations at el-Araj on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. El-Araj has long been considered a possible location of the ancient city of Julias, which was also known as Bethsaida.
Incredible bioluminescent waves have been creating remarkable scenes at Southern California’s beaches.
The phenomenon is caused by dinoflagellates, microscopic marine plankton. “Occasionally they are found in high concentrations, resulting in red tides, so called because the high abundance of organisms discolors the water,” explains the Scripps Institution of Oceanography on its website. “If the dinoflagellates are luminescent, there can be spectacular displays of bioluminescence at night.”
A surfer rides on a bioluminescent wave at the San Clemente pier on April 30, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images)
The striking blue nighttime waves have generated plenty of buzz on social media.
“#USCG Marine Safety and Security Team LA/LB got a great view of bioluminescent plankton as their boat churned up a light show!,” tweeted the U.S. Coast Guard.
A strong Red tide sees Pacific Ocean waters turn a glowing bioluminescent Blue, as well as drawing the attention of curious Los Angelenos, despite Coronavirus stay-at-home orders and closed beaches, in Playa Del Rey, CA, USA, on May 7, 2020.(Photo by John Fredricks/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Newport Beach-based photographer Patrick Coyne also captured phenomenal footage of dolphins swimming in the bioluminescent waters. “Last night was truly one of the most magical nights of my life,” he wrote on Instagram.
On Friday, CBS Los Angeles reported that police in Manhattan Beach will be increasing their patrols this weekend in response to the bioluminescent phenomenon, which has drawn significant visitors in recent weeks. LA County beaches, which were closed amid the coronavirus crisis, reopened with restrictions on May 13.
On its website, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography notes that the cellular regulation of dinoflagellate bioluminescence is complex and only partially understood. However, the luminescent chemistry is ultimately caused by a drop in pH, or or an increase in acidity, due to an influx of protons within the cell.
Mountain gorillas have been caught on camera as they “sing” during their supper, a behavior that has never before been documented on video. Filmmakers captured the astonishing footage of the primate crooners with a little help from a very special camera: a robotic “spy” designed to look like a young gorilla.
The singing apes make their television debut on April 29 in the returning PBS series, “Nature: Spy in the Wild 2.” Like its predecessor, which first aired in 2017, the program documents remarkable up-close glimpses of elusive wildlife behavior, seen through the “eyes” of robots that are uncanny lookalikes of the creatures that they film.
Though human camera operators typically keep a safe distance from wild gorillas, the lifelike animatronic gorilla spy was able to infiltrate a troop and film their daily routines, which included an impromptu suppertime serenade.
Footage of the singing gorillas is featured in the first episode of “Spy in the Wild 2” and shows the apes reclining amid dense foliage in a sanctuary in Uganda. As they munched on leaves and stems, they hummed to themselves in contentment, accompanying their vegetarian meal with a vocal “chorus of appreciation,” according to the episode’s narrator.
And the gorillas produced a chorus of mealtime music in more ways than one. Under the spy robot’s watchful camera eye, the great apes also revealed that they were extremely gassy, punctuating their dinner with near-constant bursts of flatulence.
Scientists confirmed in 2016 that gorillas sing to themselves while eating, recording audio of behavior that had long been anecdotal. The researchers observed those western lowland gorillas in a protected forest in the Republic of Congo and published their findings in the journal PLOS ONE.
The PLOS ONE study authors also learned that older gorillas performed mealtime humming and singing more than young gorillas; that males “sang” more often than females did; and that gorillas were more likely to sing while eating aquatic plants and seeds, rather than insects.
Expressive face
Creating a realistic robot spy that could fool a gorilla meant designing a face that was mobile and expressive, particularly around the eyes, said “Spy in the Wild 2” producer Matt Gordon.
“Eye communication is very important amongst gorillas,” Gordon told Live Science. “You’ll see in the footage in the first episode; the gorillas came straight over to our spy gorilla and peered right into its eyes. So we made sure that the gorilla had the most amount of detail put into the face.”
A robotic spy “gorilla” enabled filmmakers to capture never-before-seen footage of gorillas singing during their dinner. (Image credit: Copyright John Downer Productions)
Other types of robotic animal spies might need greater mobility in the air or water, such as an animatronic pelican or sea otter. And infiltrating communities of animals that live in colonies, like meerkats, requires a robot to smell like its animal subjects in order to get close to them.
“We sometimes have to anoint them in feces to allow them to be accepted into the group,” Gordon said. “It’s not the most pleasant of jobs.”
A submissive gaze
One tricky challenge for the gorilla robot was hat it had to pass inspection by a dominant male. “We wanted to make sure that we were not being threatening, so we averted the gaze of our spy gorilla,” Gordon said. This display of submissiveness convinced the male that the robot wasn’t a threat; he then signaled to the troop that it was safe for them to take a closer look at the “stranger.”
The robot was also able to beat its chest in response to a baby gorilla’s chest-beating, allowing the filmmakers to capture a rare glimpse of primate playtime.
“A young gorilla came over and did the natural thing for him, which was to beat its chest. For a baby gorilla, that means ‘I want to play,’ and if our gorilla was lifeless, not moving, I think the gorilla would have lost interest. But our spy gorilla was able to beat its chest too,” Gordon said.
“We had this wonderful, magical moment where there was this lovely to and fro between our spy gorilla and the baby gorilla, where they were really interacting,” he said. “That would be very difficult to see with traditional filming techniques.”
Other episodes in the new series feature a spy macaque taking a hot spring bath in Japan; a spy seal diving through waters near South Africa; a spy polar bear nosing through sea ice near Norway; and a tiny spy hummingbird flitting alongside thousands of butterflies in Mexico.
“Nature: Spy in the Wild 2” airs nationwide on Wednesdays from April 29 to May 20 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), and streams on pbs.org/spyinthewild and on the PBS Video app.
Michael Bradley - Time Traveler 