In The News: College of Sciences
Fossilized footprints discovered in Grand Canyon National Park were confirmed by paleontologists on Friday to be the oldest recorded tracks of their kind.
Some 313 million years ago, two creatures trekked across sand dunes in what is now the Grand Canyon and now paleontologist have uncovered evidence of their journey.
Finding fossil footprints at the Grand Canyon isn't particularly unusual. The expansive stretch of red rock is home to an array of formations containing preserved remains of the past.
Glycerol, used in the past as antifreeze for cars, is produced by a range of organisms from yeasts to vertebrates, some of which use it as an osmoprotectant—a molecule that prevents dangerous water loss in salty environments—while others use it as an antifreeze. Here, scientists from the University of Nevada and Miami University in Ohio show that two species of the single-celled green algae Chlamydomonas from Antarctica, called UWO241 and ICE-MDV, produce high levels of glycerol to protect them from osmotic water loss, and possibly also from freezing injury. Presently, only one other organism, an Arctic fish, is known to use glycerol for both purposes. Both species synthesize glycerol with enzymes encoded by multiple copies of a recently discovered ancient gene family. These results, published today in the open-access journal Frontiers in Plant Science, illustrate the importance of adaptations that allow life to not only survive but to thrive in extreme habitats.
Glycerol, used in the past as antifreeze for cars, is produced by a range of organisms from yeasts to vertebrates, some of which use it as an osmoprotectant - a molecule that prevents dangerous water loss in salty environments - while others use it as an antifreeze. Here, scientists from the University of Nevada and Miami University in Ohio show that two species of the single-celled green algae Chlamydomonas from Antarctica, called UWO241 and ICE-MDV, produce high levels of glycerol to protect them from osmotic water loss, and possibly also from freezing injury. Presently, only one other organism, an Arctic fish, is known to use glycerol for both purposes. Both species synthesize glycerol with enzymes encoded by multiple copies of a recently discovered ancient gene family. These results, published today in the open-access journal Frontiers in Plant Science, illustrate the importance of adaptations that allow life to not only survive but to thrive in extreme habitats.
Glycerol, used in the past as antifreeze for cars, is produced by a range of organisms from yeasts to vertebrates, some of which use it as an osmoprotectant – a molecule that prevents dangerous water loss in salty environments – while others use it as an antifreeze.
Researchers have discovered that fossil footprints found at the Grand Canyon are the oldest tracks of their kind to date in the area.
A new chapter to Grand Canyon National Park's geologic past has come to light in the unique form of two sets of fossilized tracks more than 300 million years old that are lying in view of any hiker on the Bright Angel Trail. Those tracks, according to paleontologists, "are by far the oldest vertebrate tracks in Grand Canyon."
Caves in Nevada can tell scientists about the history of the climate in the West and what it might look like in the future.
Despite being located in the hot and dry Mojave Desert, Nevada is home to 52 fish species found nowhere else in the world.
Tom Gordon of Carson City didn’t expect his backyard to become an excavation site when he starting planting trees this summer, but that’s what happened after he found what looked like an animal graveyard.
Tom Gordon of Carson City didn’t expect his backyard to become an excavation site when he starting planting trees this summer, but that’s what happened after he found what looked like an animal graveyard.