paleontology

This article focuses on the topic of ancient DNA research attracting scientists' interest, introduces the definition and extraction difficulties of ancient DNA, reviews the development history of ancient DNA research, and elaborates on its important research results in solving the puzzles of biological phylogenetic relationships, the kinship between Neanderthals and modern humans, and gene exchange.

This article addresses the question of whether biological macromolecules can be preserved as fossils, introduces the definition, types, functions, and constituent elements of biological macromolecules, explains that the preserved biological macromolecular fossils under geological conditions are typically composed of the hydrocarbon backbones of lipid compounds, which are referred to as biomarker compounds or molecular fossils. It also describes the components and important roles covered by their research, and takes research on Emiliania huxleyi as an example to demonstrate their application value in exploring biological evolution and other aspects.

This article focuses on "why stromatolites are no longer prevalent today", introducing the formation process of stromatolites and their prosperity in the Proterozoic era. It mentions that people speculate that the reason why stromatolites gradually declined after the Proterozoic era is that animals appeared on Earth to feed on these algae. Nowadays, stromatolites are only distributed in a few shallow sea areas, and it's difficult for cyanobacteria to form stromatolites in most regions.

This article addresses the question of whether bacteria can be preserved as fossils, introduces the mechanism of cyanobacteria forming stromatolite fossils and related fossil discoveries, and discusses the ways and examples of other types of bacteria forming fossils besides cyanobacteria.

This article focuses on the theme of "Why microorganisms are the real protagonists in the evolution of life", correcting the misunderstanding that visible animals and plants, especially humans, are the protagonists in the history of life on Earth. From the aspects of the long existence of microorganisms, their wide range of living environments, their close symbiosis with eukaryotes and multicellular organisms, their massive numbers, and their role as the main force in transforming the Earth, the article demonstrates that microorganisms are the real protagonists in the evolution of life on Earth.

This article focuses on why scientists should pay attention to the burial conditions of fossils, introduces the research scope of taphonomy, and illustrates through the cases of the dinosaur "cemetery" in Inner Mongolia and the mammal fossils in Hulu Cave in Nanjing, Jiangsu, that studying the burial conditions of fossils can answer many related questions. It also mentions the specific points for observing the burial conditions when collecting fossils and the correct way to handle precious dinosaur fossils found in the field

This article focuses on the question of "why fossil footprints can also become a discipline", and introduces the definition of footprint science, its research value, application directions, as well as the discovery of dinosaur footprint fossils in various places in China and the related research results.

This article focuses on why the "Golden Nail" is so precious. It introduces that the "Golden Nail" is a colloquial term for the Global Boundary Stratigraphic System (GSSP) section and point, which is the only indicator for identifying the boundaries of global geological eras. It elaborates on its strict selection process and global uniqueness, and points out that its recognition as a globally recognized standard for geological era division and comparison represents a significant achievement in a country's geological research, indicating that the country has reached world-leading levels in this field. Therefore, it is extremely valuable.

This article focuses on the question of how to read "The Book of the Earth", introducing the formation process of the strata that constitute "The Book of the Earth", explaining the hierarchical classification system of geological ages, the naming rules of corresponding age stratigraphic units, and the multiple sources of geological age names.

This article explains the principle that fossils can serve as ancient "calendars". That is, the growth of biological hard tissues is influenced by environmental periodicity such as the change of seasons, day and night, and the rise and fall of tides, which will form growth rhythm characteristics. Taking coral fossils as an example, it introduces that paleontologists have confirmed the law that the Earth's rotation speed gradually slows down in geological history through the growth stripe data of coral fossils from different geological periods.

This article focuses on the core question of "Why can stratigraphy reveal the history of the Earth", introducing the definition of strata and the stratigraphic characteristics, fossil conditions, and related geological information of different geological periods in the Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic eras. It demonstrates that by studying the rocks and fossils in strata, we can understand the evolutionary history of the Earth, and stratigraphy is the foundation of geological science.

This article focuses on the issue of how to reconstruct ancient animals, and introduces the fossil conditions and related influencing factors required for reconstructing ancient animals, including the need to rely on fossils such as skulls, teeth, and limb bones. The completeness of the fossils, the meticulousness of paleontologists' research, and the precision of fossil repair all affect the accuracy and reliability of the reconstruction.