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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.
Long before dolphins swam the seas, their near look-alike ichthyosaurs inhabited the earth's oceans. Now scientists say these ancient seafaring reptiles1 may have ha?????d more in common with modern-day sea turtles and marine2 mammals than we knew.
Over time, a dead animal's bones can be slowly replaced by minerals, leaving behind a rocky fossil. The researchers demineralized the 180-million-year-old fossil of an ichthyosaur...leaving them with soft, flexible tissues.
"Which is kind of amazing."
Johan Lindgren, a paleontologist at Lund University in Sweden. "It turns out that the skin, is still there, with cells and cellular3 organelles. And even traces of the original biomolecular makeup4."
Those remains5 revealed that the ichthyosaur sported camouflage6 appropriate for its underwater environment—light on the bottom, darker on top—like many marine animals have today.
The researchers also found a black, glossy7 substance that was harder to identify. So they collected dead sea turtles and porpoises8 and mimicked9 fossilization by heating and squashing the creatures' skin. Which led them to realize that that the darker substance in the ichthyosaur fossil must be blubber.
"So from having blubber we can say that, to some extent the ichthyosaurs must have been warm blooded, so to say. At least to the same degree as the modern leatherback turtle."
The write-up and photos of the fossil are in the journal Nature.
There's one more intriguing10 secret contained in the remains: proteinaceous material. Which makes you wonder if you sequenced it, could you go backwards11, and reconstruct the DNA12 that coded for the proteins?
In other words: (Jurassic Park clip: "Bingo... Dino DNA!)
Of course, ichthyosaurs were not dinosaurs13, but the Jurassic Park methodology is what's important. So, could we resurrect one starting from their protein sequences?
"Yeah well, perhaps. You should never say never!"
Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.
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1
reptiles
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n.爬行动物,爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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2
marine
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adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵 | |
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cellular
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adj.移动的;细胞的,由细胞组成的 | |
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makeup
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n.组织;性格;化装品 | |
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5
remains
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n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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6
camouflage
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n./v.掩饰,伪装 | |
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glossy
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adj.平滑的;有光泽的 | |
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porpoises
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n.鼠海豚( porpoise的名词复数 ) | |
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mimicked
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v.(尤指为了逗乐而)模仿( mimic的过去式和过去分词 );酷似 | |
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intriguing
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adj.有趣的;迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词);激起…的好奇心 | |
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11
backwards
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adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
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12
DNA
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(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸 | |
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dinosaurs
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n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 );守旧落伍的人,过时落后的东西 | |
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