(Press-News.org) Berlin, Germany (November, 2014) - Many large charismatic mammals went extinct at the end of the Ice Age (approx 11,000 years ago), including the Steppe bison, Bison priscus. A recent find in Eastern Siberia has uncovered one of these bison, literally, frozen in time.
The most complete frozen mummy of the Steppe bison yet known, dated to 9,300 years before present, was recently uncovered in the Yana-Indigirka Lowland and a necropsy was performed to learn about how this animal lived and died at the end of the Ice Age. The Yukagir bison mummy, as it is named, has a complete brain, heart, blood vessels and digestive system, although some organs have shrunk significantly over time. The necropsy of this unique mummy showed a relatively normal anatomy with no obvious cause of death. However, the lack of fat around abdomen of the animal makes researchers think that the animal may have died from starvation.
This project is being led by Dr. Natalia Serduk of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia with contributions from a large group of scientists mainly from Yakutsk and Moscow, Russia. But one project scientist, Olga Potapova, is from the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs in South Dakota, USA, she tells us, "The Yukagir bison mummy became the third find out of four now known complete mummies of this species discovered in the world, and one out of two adult specimens that are being kept preserved with internal organs and stored in frozen conditions", making this find one of high importance.
Dr. Evgeny Maschenko, another project scientist, from the Paleontological Institute in Moscow (Russia), comments, "The exclusively good preservation of the Yukagir bison mummy allows direct anatomical comparisons with modern species of Bison and cattle, as well as with extinct species of bison that were gone at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary."
Frozen bison and mammoth mummies are changing the way we think about paleontology because of the large amount of information that can be ascertained from each specimen, with new scientific methods and approaches that became available within the last decade. Potapova adds, "The next steps to be done include further examination of the bison's gross anatomy, and other detailed studies on its histology, parasites, and bones and teeth. We expect that the results of these studies will reveal not only the cause of death of this particular specimen, but also might shed light on the species behavior and causes of its extinction."
INFORMATION:
About the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Founded in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the Society now has more than 2,300 members representing professionals, students, artists, preparators, and others interested in VP. It is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes, with the object of advancing the science of vertebrate paleontology.
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology website: http://www.vertpaleo.org
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (JVP) is the leading journal of professional vertebrate paleontology and the flagship publication of the Society. It was founded in 1980 by Dr. Jiri Zidek and publishes contributions on all aspects of vertebrate paleontology.
Journal Web site: http://vertpaleo.org/Publications/Journal-of-Vertebrate-Paleontology.aspx
AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS:
NATALIA SERDUK
Paleontological Institute
Russian Academy of Sciences
Moscow
Russia
olgap@mammothsite.org
OLGA POTAPOVA
Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD, Inc.
Hot Springs, SD
United States of America
EVGENY MASCHENKO
Borissyak Paleontological Institute
Russian Academy of Sciences
Moscow
Russia
ALBERT PROTOPOPOV
Yakutian Academy of Sciences
Yakutsk
Russia
INNOKENTY PAVLOV
Yakut State Museum of History and Culture of the North
Yakutsk
Russia
ANASTASIA KHARLAMOVA
Institute of Human Morphology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences
Moscow
Russia
KONSTANTIN KIRIKOV
Yakutian State Agricultural Academy
Yakutsk
Russia
GENNADY BOESKOROV
Diamond and Precious Metals Geology Institute
Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences
Yakutsk
Russia
VALERY PLOTNIKOV
Yakutian Academy of Sciences
Yakutsk
Russia
STANISLAV KOLESOV
Yakutian Academy of Sciences
Yakutsk
Russia
Complete 9,000-year-old frozen bison mummy found in Siberia
2014-11-06
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
MFM specialist provides viewpoint in American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
2014-11-06
There is no doubt that pregnant and breastfeeding women try to do everything they can to ensure a healthy outcome for their baby, including eating a healthy, well-balanced diet that provides the necessary nutrients for fetal growth and development. In recent years, there has been significant debate about the consumption of fish among pregnant and breastfeeding women.
In June, following a survey that found that the majority of pregnant women do not eat much fish and thus may have inadequate intake of certain omega 3 fatty acids, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ...
New research adds spice to curcumin's health-promoting benefits
2014-11-06
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The health benefits of over-the-counter curcumin supplements might not get past your gut, but new research shows that a modified formulation of the spice releases its anti-inflammatory goodness throughout the body.
Curcumin is a naturally occurring compound found in the spice turmeric that has been used for centuries as an Ayurvedic medicine treatment for such ailments as allergies, diabetes and ulcers.
Anecdotal and scientific evidence suggests curcumin promotes health because it lowers inflammation, but it is not absorbed well by the body. Most curcumin ...
Joslin scientists discover new step in a molecular pathway responsible for birth defects
2014-11-06
BOSTON - (November 6, 2014) - Mary R. Loeken, Ph.D., Investigator in the Section on Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology at Joslin Diabetes Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has discovered a molecular pathway responsible for neural tube defects in diabetic pregnancies. Her latest research findings in this pathway were published in the October issue of Diabetes.
For 20 years, scientists have known of a gene involved in neural tube defects (such as spina bifida), but until now it was not known exactly what causes this gene to malfunctions ...
Bats identified as hosts of Bartonella mayotimonensis
2014-11-06
The modern sequencing techniques have shown that bats can carry a bacterial species previously been shown to cause deadly human infections in USA.
When the research group of Arto Pulliainen at the Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Finland, analyzed an array of bat samples from Finland and UK, one class of identified bacteria turned out to be exceptionally significant. Multilocus sequence analyses of clonal bat Bartonella isolates demonstrated that bats carry Bartonella mayotimonensis. This species has previously been shown to cause deadly human infections ...
By studying twins, psychologist researches proactivity in the workplace
2014-11-06
MANHATTAN, KANSAS -- A Kansas State University psychological sciences professor is using twin studies to understand the nature versus nurture debate of the workplace: Do genetic factors or environmental factors influence employee proactivity?
His answer: The interaction between the genetic and environmental factors determines why some employees are more proactive than others.
"It's more like nature and nurture rather than nature versus nurture," said Wendong Li, assistant professor of psychological sciences in the College of Arts & Sciences. "It is the reciprocal relationship ...
Researchers develop new model to study epidemics
2014-11-06
For decades, scientists have been perfecting models of how contagions spread, but newly published research takes the first steps into building a model that includes the loop linking individual human behavior and the behavior of the epidemic itself.
The first results of the highly complex modeling led by researchers at the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering were recently spotlighted as "brilliant research" by the American Physical Society.
Eventually, the team hopes the model will more accurately predict who should be vaccinated and isolated first ...
Future air quality could put plants and people at risk
2014-11-06
By combining projections of climate change, emissions reductions and changes in land use across the USA, an international research team estimate that by 2050, cumulative exposure to ozone during the summer will be high enough to damage vegetation.
Although the research findings - published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions - focus on the impact in the USA, they raise wider concerns for global air quality, according to lead researcher Dr Maria Val Martin, from the University of Sheffield's Faculty of Engineering
"Modelling future air quality is very complex, ...
All kidding aside: Medical clowns calm children during uncomfortable allergy test
2014-11-06
The dreaded scratch or puncture test is the most common way of assessing allergic reactions to as many as 40 different substances at once. But because the test involves needles that prick multiple points along the skin's surface, it's a particularly high-stress examination for children -- and their understandably anxious parents.
A new study by Tel Aviv University researchers provides the first quantitative analysis of the role of "medical clowns" in assuaging the anxiety and pain felt by children undergoing allergy tests. The research, published in Allergy, was conducted ...
Lifestyle education crucial to help young Americans control their blood pressure
2014-11-06
Far too many "teachable moments" are lost in a doctor's office during which young adults with hypertension could have learned how to reduce their blood pressure. In fact, only one in every two hypertensive young Americans does in fact receive such advice and guidance from a healthcare provider within a year from being diagnosed, says Heather M. Johnson of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in the US. She led a study which examined how regularly such education is provided and documented by one of the ten largest physician practice groups in ...
The Lancet: 'Aging well' must be a global priority
2014-11-06
A major new Series on health and ageing, published in The Lancet, warns that unless health systems find effective strategies to address the problems faced by an ageing world population, the growing burden of chronic disease will greatly affect the quality of life of older people. As people across the world live longer, soaring levels of chronic illness and diminished wellbeing are poised to become a major global public health challenge.
Worldwide, life expectancy of older people continues to rise. By 2020, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 60 years ...