New leaf fossils found in Ethiopia’s Mush Valley

Plants & Animals

New leaf fossils found in Ethiopia’s Mush Valley

DALLAS (SMU) – Leaf fossils from Ethiopia’s Mush Valley that date back nearly 22 million years have been found by SMU’s Earth Science professors Bonnie Jacobs and Neil J. Tabor and a dozen other international scientists. The Mush Valley is the first site in Africa to produce an assemblage of some 2,400 leaves from that time [...]

2020-02-24T09:40:50-06:00 February 12, 2020|Categories: Earth & Climate, Fossils & Ruins, Plants & Animals, Researcher news, SMU In The News, Subfeature|

Why do birds migrate at night?

UT Southwestern Medical Center and SMU found migratory birds maximize how much light they get from their environment, so they can migrate even at night  DALLAS (SMU) – It was a puzzle about birds. Migratory birds are known to rely on Earth’s magnetic field to help them navigate the globe. And it was suspected that a [...]

2020-02-18T11:44:54-06:00 September 12, 2019|Categories: Plants & Animals, Researcher news, SMU In The News, Subfeature|

People transformed the world through land use by 3,000 years ago

Study sheds light on how the way our ancestors fed themselves changed our ecosystem DALLAS (SMU) – Humans started making an impact on the global ecosystem through intensive farming much earlier than previously estimated, according to a new study published in the journal Science. Evidence of the earliest domesticated plants and animals dates back to [...]

2020-02-18T11:44:55-06:00 August 29, 2019|Categories: Earth & Climate, Plants & Animals, Researcher news, SMU In The News, Subfeature|

New Texas dinosaur identified by SMU scientists

Discovery suggests a nesting site for dinosaurs in early Cretaceous Convolosaurus photo courtesy of the Perot Museum of Nature & Science. DALLAS (SMU) – There’s a new Texas dinosaur on the books. SMU postdoctoral fellow Kate Andrzejewski, with University paleontologists Dale Winkler and Louis Jacobs, have identified Convolosaurus marri from fossils collected at [...]

2020-02-18T11:45:01-06:00 April 8, 2019|Categories: Feature, Fossils & Ruins, Plants & Animals, Researcher news|

New Smithsonian Exhibit Reflects the Passion of SMU Professor and an Army of Student Fossil Hounds

Sea Monsters Unearthed: Life in Angola’s Ancient Seas opens Nov. 9 at National Museum of Natural History DALLAS (SMU October 15, 2018) – Once the exhibit opens, “Sea Monsters Unearthed: Life in Angola’s Ancient Seas” will allow visitors to visually dive into the cool waters off the coast of West Africa as they existed millions [...]

Ancient “Sea Monsters” Reveal How the Ever-Changing Planet Shapes Life, Past and Present

Never-Before-Seen Fossils From Angola Bring a Strange Yet Familiar Ocean Into View The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History will open a new exhibition Nov. 9, 2018 revealing how millions of years ago, large-scale natural forces created the conditions for real-life sea monsters to thrive in the South Atlantic Ocean basin shortly after it formed. [...]

Study: Cells of three aggressive cancers annihilated by drug-like compounds that reverse chemo failure

A new study by SMU biochemists finds that cells of three aggressive cancers are annihilated by drug-like compounds that reverse chemo failure.

Commerce Department selects scientific team to conduct independent abundance estimate of red snapper in Gulf of Mexico

An expert team of university and government scientists will determine the abundance of red snapper in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico, as availability of the fish is vital to the region's economy.

Prehistoric puzzle settled: carbon dioxide link to global warming 22 million years ago

The modern link between high carbon levels and climate change didn’t appear to hold true for a time interval about 25 million years ago; but now a new study using a different methodology has found the link does indeed exist.

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