Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Archaeopteryx fossil seen in new light

The feathers preserved in a 150 million year old fossil of Archaeopteryx structures retain chemical elements from the original feathers, a new X-ray imaging technique shows. They found remains of soft tissue on the feathers. The new images show high concentrations of phosphorus. The technique can get certain chemical elements at concentrations of just a few parts per million. Besides the great finding of phosphorus in the fossil’s feathers, the team’s new analyses suggest that the fossil’s bones retain traces of their original zinc.

The new technique is “opening up a new window into the chemistry of fossils,” says Derek Briggs, a paleontologist at Yale University. He is very correct and i think the same thing he does. This will let researchers know more about what they're studying.

Link: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/59062/title/Archaeopteryx_fossil_seen_in_new_light_

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