Giant Trilobite found in Portugal

Scientists and paleontologists recently announced the discovery of the largest trilobite ever discovered. 


Trilobites are marine arthropods that lived in the Cambrian period, 291 million of years before the first dinosaurs. 

The Trilobites found in Portugal measured over three feet in length. About as long as a Sarcophilus harrisii!


But the funny thing is that they didn't find just one or two of these Trilobites, they found thousands! They call this rich fossil site a "lagerstätte".


The way the Trilobites were arranged showes clues on how these animals lived. Some were taking refuge when they were buried. Others can be seen giving birth and molting!


The chemistry of the rocks that contain the fossils indicate that the area that the trilobites were preserved in had a very low oxygen content.

Three New Dinosaur Skeletons Uncovered in Australia

It has been almost thirty years since the last big fossil skeleton was discovered in Australia.


That makes the three most recent finds even more interesting.


Two of the dinosaurs were herbivores and one a carnivore.


All of them were found in ninty-eight million year old Cretaceous rock.


The remains were found in the outback of Queensland, Australia.


The Carnivore, named Australovenator had three slashing claws on each hand. Compared with Velociraptor because of it's morphology, Australovenator is more closely related to the T-rex relative: Gigantosaurus.


The herbivores are long-necks called Titanosaurs. 


One of them Wintonotitan had a more upright neck, similar to a Brachiosaurus.


 The other one Diamantinasaurus was a bit more heavily built than Wintonotitan with a slightly shorter neck.


Diamantinasaurus resembled Apatosaurus.


The Carnivore and one of the herbivores were found in an ox-bow lake. These lakes are formed by meandering rivers in which an extremely arced bend of a river becomes cut-off from the rest of the flow, creating a curved lake. 


The other skeleton was found in what looks to have been the sandy banks of a gentle flowing river.


Also found with the dinosaurs were imprints of woody stems and branches, cones, ferns and ginkos.


Paleontologists say that they also brought back hundreds of other fossils that they haven't extracted from the rock yet. 


Hundreds of fossils are still at the new dig sites waiting to be discovered.

Scientists Use the "Jurassic Park" Experiment to try and Bring Woolly Mammoth back from the Dead

Woolly Mammoths could one day walk the Earth again, it seems.

In a Jurassic Park-like experiment , using DNA from a frozen Mammoth specimen, Scientists were able to reproduce their blood.

And it's revealed that Mammoths used more that their shaggy coats to keep them warm, they had antifreeze in their blood.

Researcher Prof Kevin Campbell-of the University of Manitoba, Canada, said: "The molecules are no different than going back in time and taking a blood sample from a real mammoth."


To recreate the blood, scientists used DNA from a 43,000 year old specimen from Siberia.


It was used accompanying genetic information from their close relatives Asian Elephants. 


And therefore showing that woolly mammoth's blood was adapted to freezing climates. 


It's "antifreeze" blood carries oxygen around the body at freezing temperatures. 


This trait is thought to have evolved after mammoth's relatives moved out of Africa.


But just by recreating a prehistoric protein doesn't mean that scientists can create a whole animal though.



DNA is not preserved in fossils. So this technique can't be used on animals that dies out millions of years ago.


The project began seven years ago when Prof Campbell contacted the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at Adelaide University.


In the movie Jurassic Park DNA preserved in an insect trapped in amber millions of years ago is used to recreate dinosaurs. (Crazy!)