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Magazine article
Cold War Scotland: new exhibition coming to National Museum of Scotland
A new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, running from 13 July 2024, will explore Scotland’s critical position on the frontline of the Cold War.National Museums Scotland
legacies of war, Cold War Scotland exhibition, strategic position, and research output
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Journal article
Making places: Scotland's jewellery craft in the age of industry
Sarah Laurenson shares examples of beautiful jewellery created during the 'age of industry' and invites us to imagine the lives of the craftspeople behinf these exquisite pieces, using their skills and ingenuity in the age of growing mechanisation and standardisationLaurenson, Sarah
geology, Scotland, crafts, jewellery , natural environment , mineralogy, precious metals , material culture , lapidaries, and contemporary collecting
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Journal article
The genome of the black-footed cat: Revealing a rich natural history and urgent conservation priorities for small felids
Habitat degradation and loss of genetic diversity are common threats faced by almost all of today’s wild cats. Big cats, such as tigers and lions, are of great concern and have received considerable conservation attention through policies and international actions. However, knowledge of and conservation actions for small wild cats...Yuan, Jiaqing ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Lackey, Laurie Bingaman ; Sun, Ting ; Jiangzuo, Qigao …
INTROGRESSION , CONSERVATION , BLACK-FOOTED CAT, and INBREEDING
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Journal article
A Computed Tomographic Study of the Premolar Teeth of Babyrousa spp.
A photographic and computed tomography (CT) scanning study was carried out on the premolar teeth of 18 adult male Babyrousa babyrussa skulls, 10 skulls of Babyrousa celebensis, including 6 adult males, 1 adult female, 1 subadult male, 1 subadult female, and 1 juvenile male. The occlusal morphology of the permanent...Macdonald, Alastair A ; Ziehmer, Bianca ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Gelang, Magnus ; Åblad, Björn …
anatomy, Babyrousa spp., wild pig , tooth , root, babirusa , and root canal
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Journal article
Identification of constrained sequence elements across 239 primate genomes
Noncoding DNA is central to our understanding of human gene regulation and complex diseases , and measuring the evolutionary sequence constraint can establish the functional relevance of putative regulatory elements in the human genome . Identifying the genomic elements that have become constrained specifically in primates has been hampered by... -
Journal article
Mitochondrial genetic variation in long-eared hedgehogs, Hemiechinus auritus, from the Anatolian Peninsula and Cyprus
Mitochondrial genetic variation was examined in long-eared hedgehogs, , from the Anatolian Peninsula, the adjacent island of Cyprus and from Azerbaijan. These data were compared with those available from other parts of the species’ range in North Africa and Asia. Two distinct cytochrome- lineages are present in Anatolia, one of...Özmen, Medine ; Demirtaş, Sadık ; Herman, Jeremy S ; Gündüz, İslam
Anatolia , cytochrome-b, Hemiechinus, Cyprus, and Hemiechinus auritus calligoni
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Journal article
Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003: a remarkable marine archosauromorph from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China
The non-archosauriform archosauromorph Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was first described from the Upper Member of the Guanling Formation (late Anisian, Middle Triassic) of Guizhou Province by Li in 2003 on the basis of a complete articulated skull and the first three cervical vertebrae exposed in dorsal to right lateral view. Since then,...Spiekman, Stephan N F ; Wang, Wei ; Zhao , Lijun ; Rieppel , Olivier ; Fraser, Nicholas C …
non-archosauriform , marine reptile , southern China, and late Anisian
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Newspaper article
Following the map to a time and place
A staggering 34.2 million maps were made by the British Armed Forces during the Second World War. A new display at the National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle traces their vital role in the war effort, the evolving technology used to produce them and their post war place as mementos...Gibb, Julie
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Journal article
Evolutionary novelties underlie sound production in baleen whales
Baleen whales (mysticetes) use vocalizations to mediate their complex social and reproductive behaviours in vast, opaque marine environments1. Adapting to an obligate aquatic lifestyle demanded fundamental physiological changes to efficiently produce sound, including laryngeal specializations2,3,4. Whereas toothed whales (odontocetes) evolved a nasal vocal organ5, mysticetes have been thought to use...Elemans, Coen P H ; Jiang, Weili ; Jensen, Mikkel H ; Pichler, Helena ; Mussman, Bo R …
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Journal article
Insular evolution from an archaeological perspective: a case study of Orkney house mouse
Archaeological material adds a temporal dimension to evolutionary studies that is valuable for elucidating long-term population stability and evolutionary shifts for species closely associated with humans. Here, a two-dimensional geometric morphometrics approach on first upper molars was applied to modern and archaeological samples to assess the evolution of house mice... -
Journal article
A review of early historical records of Collared Pratincoles in Britain, and new British first records of Collared, Black-winged and Oriental Pratincoles
This paper reviews 25 nineteenth- and one early twentieth-century British records of Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola. It follows the recent acceptance of a British first record by the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC) from North Meols, Lancashire & North Merseyside, in 1805. Subsequent records were reviewed using the published...McGowan, Robert Y
bird sighting records, Collared Pratincole , Glareola pratincola, and British
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Journal article
Supplement to the Burmese (Myanmar) amber checklist and bibliography, 2023
This is a supplement to the Burmese (Myanmar) amber checklist and bibliography covering taxa described or recorded during 2023, plus a couple of earlier records that were missed previously. Up to the end of 2023, 2,781 species have been recorded from Kachin amber, of which 244 were named in 2023;...Ross, Andrew J
Invertebrates , Cretaceous, Plants, Myanmar , Arachnids, Burmese Amber , and Insects
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Journal article
Diversification history and morphological evolution of larks
Larks (Alaudidae) constitute one of the avian families best adapted to xeric environments, having colonized a wide suite of open habitats including deserts. Although their highest diversity is in Africa, larks occur on all nonpolar continents. We tested whether larks exhibit exceptional and/or correlated shifts in the tempos of speciation...García-Navas, Vicente ; Stervander, Martin ; Alström, Per
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Newspaper article
How contemporary collecting will show future generations who we are
A big part of the National Museum of Scotland’s mandate is to acquire new artefacts, not least in the area of sustainability and climate change to help inspire and engage those who visit, writes Dr Ellie SwinbankSwinbank, Ellie
Sustainability strategy , climate change , biodiversity loss, cutting-edge developments, National Museums Scotland, contemporary collecting , and museum collections
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Journal article
Rising Tide: Art and Environment in Oceania
In August 2023, Rising Tide: Art and Environment in Oceania opened at the National Museum of Scotland. The exhibition considers how life depends on the ocean and presents various ways in which individuals within Oceania are working to protect it through the medium of artistic practice. From the start, we...Clark, Alison ; Dawson, Jan ; Duffy, Declan
Oceania, artistic practice, re-use, Rising Tide: Art and Environment in Oceania , exhibition, recycle, and sustainability
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Journal article
Caridoid crustaceans from the Ballagan Formation (Tournaisian, Lower Carboniferous) of Willie's Hole, Chirnside, Scottish Borders, UK
The descriptions of two co-occurring cardioid crustaceans from the Ballagan Formation (Tournaisian, Lower Carboniferous) of Chirnside, Scottish Borders, help to resolve the taxonomy of the genus Tealliocaris. Tealliocaris robusta Peach, 1908 is assigned to Schramocaris to form S. robusta (Peach, 1908) comb. nov. on the basis of morphological characters such...Clark, Neil D L ; Ross, Andrew J
Scotland , Tealliocarididae , Crustacea , Mississippian , Eumalacostraca , and Tealliocaris
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Journal article
A Potters' Collection - How Scotland became home to a collection of Portuguese Folk Ceramics
In 2022, Ian and Elizabeth Hird of the Kelso Pottery approached National Museums Scotland (NMS) with an offer to donate a collection of Portuguese pottery figures, acquired during visits to a pottery in the ceramic centre of Caldas da Rainha between the 1960s and 1980s. Half of the group of... -
Journal article
The Life of Mary Anning, Fossil Collector of Lyme Regis: a Contemporary Biographical Memoir by George Roberts
Despite the modern celebrity of the fossil collector Mary Anning (1799–1847) of Lyme Regis and her frequent use as an icon in scientific education and popularization, there are few accounts of her life by her contemporaries. We report here a previously unpublished anonymous manuscript memoir of Anning's life, in the...Taylor, Michael A ; Benton, Michael J
George Roberts, Lyme Regis, Athenæum, and Mary Anning obituary
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Journal article
Range-wide whole-genome resequencing of the brown bear reveals drivers of intraspecies divergence
Population-genomic studies can shed new light on the effect of past demographic processes on contemporary population structure. We reassessed phylogeographical patterns of a classic model species of postglacial recolonisation, the brown bear ( ), using a range-wide resequencing dataset of 128 nuclear genomes. In sharp contrast to the erratic geographical...de Jong, Menno J ; Niamir, Aidin ; Wolf, Magnus ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Lecomte, Nicolas …
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Journal article
Two new species of European Microgaster Latreille, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae), with host data on some further species
Two new European species of are described from reared material. parasitizes species (Depressariidae) on and in Britain, and a key is provided to separate it from two other British species that parasitize other , with host information. ., a parasitoid of (Noctuidae), is described from Austrian specimens. The host repertoires... -
Journal article
Supplement to the Burmese (Myanmar) amber checklist and bibliography, 2022
This is a supplement to the Burmese (Myanmar) amber checklist and bibliography covering taxa described or recorded during 2022, plus a couple of earlier records that were missed previously. Up to the end of 2022, 2,524 species have been recorded from Kachin amber, of which 350 were named in 2022;...Ross, Andrew J
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Journal article
Notes on the three species of Cotesia Cameron, 1891 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae) parasitizing Gonepteryx [Leach, 1815] species (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in Europe, with description of a new species from the Balearic Islands
Shaw & Colom sp. nov. is described as a solitary endemic parasitoid of in the Balearic Islands. A key is given to the three known parasitoids of in Europe, and biological notes are given for each species. Some new country records are given.Shaw, Mark R ; Colom, Pau
GONEPTERYX, GONEPTERYX RHAMNI, COTESIA GONOPTERYGIS, FRANCE, PHENOLOGY, REARING RECORDS, COTESIA RISILIS, SWEDEN, SPAIN, CLEOPATRA, and COTESIA BALEARICA
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Journal article
The organics revolution: new narratives and how we can achieve them
Organic remains from excavated sites include a wide range of materials, from distinct organisms (‘ecofacts’) to biomolecules. Biomolecules provide a variety of new research avenues, while ecofacts with longer histories of study are now being re-harnessed in unexpected ways. These resources are unlocking research potential, transcending what was previously imagined...Johnston, P ; Booth, T ; Carlin, N ; Cramp, L ; Edwards, B …
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Journal article
Nostalgia in the prehistoric archaeological record
Evidence from the prehistoric archaeological record clearly shows that ancient societies had a sense of and engaged with their own histories, be it by reusing, re-appropriating or recreating past material culture. The affective qualities of materials, places and even human remains would have enabled people to remember and connect with...Knight, Matthew G
material culture, human remains, reuse, materials, prehistoric archaeological record, recreation, and re-appropriation
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Journal article
QR codes can enrich a visit to a museum
Some museums want to ban them, while others see them as a low-cost way to connect visitors with contentCoulson, Adam
museums, QR code readers, quick response codes, exhibitions, and digital access
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Journal article
Newly-discovered pilgrim souvenirs fit for a saintly queen
Lydia Prosser and Robert Webley take a look at the implications of the exciting discovery of a pair of medieval Scottish pilgrim badges. How did these items find their way to Cambridgeshire and what can this tell us about the use of such badges in the Middle Ages?Prosser, Lydia ; Webley, Robert
cult, metal detecting, Medieval Scotland, Fordham, Cambridgeshire, pilgrim badges, Portable Antiquities Scheme, and Saint Margaret of Scotland
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Journal article
Historical Textile Dye Analysis Using DESI-MS
Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) is an ambient mass spectrometry technique that shows great potential for the analysis of fragile heritage objects in situ. This article focuses on the application of a recently built DESI source to characterize natural dyestuffs in historical textiles and a presentation of initial imaging...Sandström, Edith ; Vettorazzo, Chiara ; Mackay, C Logan ; Troalen, Lore G ; Hulme, Alison N
mass spectrometry, mass spectrometry imaging, natural dyes, non-invasive analysis, and textile
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Journal article
Evolutionary trends in trimerellid brachiopods
Non-articulated trimerellides, one minor group among the largest brachiopods, are commonly found in massive monospecific accumulations in Ordovician and Silurian rocks. In this paper, all species of the family Trimerellidae are listed for the first time, and some of them are discussed. They appeared in the Sandbian and became extinct...Chen, Di ; Huang, Bing ; Candela, Yves
morphospace and phylogenetic analyses, evolution, brachiopods, and trimerellides
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Journal article
A new fossil from the London Clay documents the convergent origin of a “mousebird-like” tarsometatarsus in an early Eocene near-passerine bird
We describe a partial skeleton of a small bird from the lower Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK), which shows close affinities to two phylogenetically controversial early Paleogene taxa, Morsoravis sedilis (lower Eocene of Denmark) and Pumiliornis tessellatus (lower/middle Eocene of Germany). Our phylogenetic analysis supports a clade including...Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Aves, Walton-on-the-Naze, Sororavis solitarius, Eocene, UK, and evolution
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Journal article
New postcranial remains from the Lealt Shale Formation of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, showcase hidden pterosaur diversity in the Middle Jurassic
The Early to Middle Jurassic transition was significant in pterosaur evolution, during which these volant reptiles exploded in diversity alongside dinosaurs and other animals. It has long been thought, however, that pterosaurs did not develop large wingspans until after the Jurassic, a notion challenged by the recent discovery of in...Jagielska, Natalia ; Challands, Thomas J ; O'Sullivan, Michael ; Ross, Dugald A ; Fraser, Nicholas C …
Palaeontology and Geobiology, Palaeoenvironments, and Palaeogeography
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Journal article
Continued survival of the elusive Seram orange melomys (Melomys fulgens)
Many poorly-known small mammals have remained undetected for decades, including , a distinctive orange murid from Seram, Indonesia, that has been unrecorded since 1920. We report previously undocumented specimens of collected in 1993 and 1994, and local ecological knowledge from 2017 including descriptions and recent sightings, providing strong indirect evidence...Turvey, Samuel T ; Jeffree, Timothy E ; Macdonald, Alastair A ; Leus, Kristin ; Kennerley, Rosalind J …
species rediscovery, local ecological knowledge, lost species, extinction, and Indonesia
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Journal article
Historical Mitogenomic Diversity and Population Structuring of Southern Hemisphere Fin Whales
Fin whales Balaenoptera physalus were hunted unsustainably across the globe in the 19th and 20th centuries, leading to vast reductions in population size. Whaling catch records indicate the importance of the Southern Ocean for this species; approximately 730,000 fin whales were harvested during the 20th century in the Southern Hemisphere... -
Journal article
An apparent nineteenth-century record of Scopoli’s Shearwater in Hampshire
A putative specimen of a Great Shearwater Ardenna gravis from Hampshire, dated 1878, was located at Leicester Museums & Galleries. On examination, it was found to be a male Scopoli’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea. If shown to have a wild origin, the specimen would potentially represent the first British record of...McInerny, Christopher J ; McGowan, Robert Y ; Clark, John M ; Moody, Marc P ; Senfeld, Tereza …
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Journal article
Managing Aspen stands in the Scottish Highlands for dead-wood insects
This article details the management strategies and actions employed in aspen stands in northern Scotland to ensure the continuity of the associated specialised saproxylic insect fauna. This fauna depends on the correct "under-bark" conditions and management focuses on ensuring continuity of this transient microhabitat. Although the strategies have been developed...MacGowan, Iain
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Journal article
The aspen hoverfly Hammerschmidtia ferruginea (Fallén)(Diptera, Syrphidae) in Deeside
After a gap of some 30 years the presence of the aspen hoverfly Hammerschmidtia ferruginea (Fallén, 1817), is confirmed in Deeside, Aberdeenshire. The methods used to re-establish the population are discussed.MacGowan, Iain
Hammerschmidtia ferruginea , population, aspen hoverfly , Diptera, cambium, and Syrphidae
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Magazine article
Captain Waring and the Great House on Broad Street
Taylor, Michael A
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Journal article
We need to encourage a plurality of voices in collections-based research
Stories have too narrow a perspective, says John Giblin and Phoenix ArcherGiblin, John ; Archer, Phoenix
Exchange, African, Caribbean and South Asian diaspora heritage communities, Museology, Colonial Histories and Legacies, and Collections Research
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Magazine article
Donald Ross and the highland Clearances
Andrew J. Ross provides the background to his new book on the life of his relative Donald Ross, a critic of the highland clearances who raised money and provided supplies for sufferers of the potato famine, but ultimately became a victim of his own success and emigrated to Canada following...Ross, Andrew J
venerable societies, emigration, highland clearances, biography, and Donald Ross (1813-1882)
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Journal article
A Thomas Rathbone & Joseph Machin letter
I purchased a letter on a postal history website as it was from Thomas Rathbone, and which had been sent from his pottery at Portobello on the 17th June 1817 and addressed to the important Staffordshire potter Joseph Machin.Haggarty, George R
Joseph Machin, Thomas Rathbone, pottery history, Jack Dunlop, letter correspondence, and Messer's Leggat stoneware merchant
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Journal article
Narrow-beaked trogons from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK)
We describe multiple partial skeletons of a new trogon species from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK), which are among the oldest fossils of the Trogoniformes. , gen. et sp. nov. has a much narrower and more gracile beak than extant trogons, which denotes different ecological attributes...Mayr, Gerald ; De Pietri, Vanesa L ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Eotrogon stenorhynchus, gen. et sp. nov. , Phylogeny, Fossil birds , Paratrogon gallicus , Aves , and Evolution
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Journal article
The prevalence of vestigial teeth in two beaked whale species from the North Atlantic
Beaked whales, Family Ziphiidae, occur in deep offshore and oceanic seas, where they are very difficult to study, so that much of our knowledge about them is derived from stranded animals. Most beaked whales (e.g., genera and ) have only one pair of mandibular teeth. A reduced dentition is widely...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Herman, Jeremy S ; Doeschate, Mariel ten ; Davison, Nicholas J ; Brownlow, Andrew …
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Journal article
Molecular fingerprints resolve affinities of Rhynie chert organic fossils
The affinities of extinct organisms are often difficult to resolve using morphological data alone. Chemical analysis of carbonaceous specimens can complement traditional approaches, but the search for taxon-specific signals in ancient, thermally altered organic matter is challenging and controversial, partly because suitable positive controls are lacking. Here, we show that...Loron , C C ; Rodriguez Dzul, E ; Orr, P J ; Gromov, A V ; Fraser, Nicholas C …
Eukaryote , Biogeochemistry, Palaeontology , and Prokaryote
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Journal article
Pests or prey? Micromammal species within an ancient anthropic environment at the Norse settlement site of Tuquoy (Westray, Orkney)
Micromammals, like rodents and shrews, adapt rapidly to take advantage of new food sources, habitats and ecological niches, frequently thriving in anthropogenic environments. Their remains, often retrieved during archaeological investigations, can be a valuable source of information about the past environmental conditions as well as interspecies interactions and human activity....Romaniuk, Andrzej A ; Troalen, Lore G ; Bendrey, Robin ; Herman, Jeremy S ; Owen, Olwyn …
commensalism, introductions, Orkney, micromammal, archaeology, and predation
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Journal article
Provocation: Are museums relevant for social and environmental justice today?
JG: I work at National Museums Scotland. Our vision is 'inspiring people: addressing the challenges of our age'. Arguably, two of the most important of these challenges are social and environmental inequality. I've worked in or with museums for over twenty years. One of the reasons that I have done...Asante, Sheila ; Cummins, Nelson ; Giblin, John ; Loovers, Jan Peter Laurens
contemporary collecting, climate change, museology, colonial collections, museum, and curation
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Journal article
‘South Kensington is practically as far away as Paris or Munich’: the making of industrial collections in Edinburgh, Newcastle and Birmingham
The provocation within the heart of the Congruence Engine leads us to consider not only the connections between our industrial collections, but the differences which shine a light on the gaps that exist nationally as well as institutionally due to the unique ways in which those collections were built. Emerging... -
Journal article
Development and Application of Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Historical Dye Analysis
A desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) source was built and attached to a Bruker 7T SolariX FT-ICR-MS for the in situ analysis of 14 early synthetic dyestuffs. Optimization using silk and wool cloths dyed with rhodamine B concluded that when using a commercial electrospray emitter (part number: 0601815, Bruker Daltonik), a...Sandström, Edith ; Vettorazzo, Chiara ; Mackay, C Logan ; Troalen, Lore G ; Hulme, Alison N
Solvents, Dyes and pigments, Biomimetic materials, Ions, and Fibers
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Journal article
A new long‐necked archosauromorph from the Guanling Formation (Anisian, Middle Triassic) of southwestern China and its implications for neck evolution in tanystropheids
A long neck is an evolutionary innovation convergently appearing in multiple tetrapod lineages, including groups of plesiosaurs, non-archosauriform archosauromorphs, turtles, sauropodomorphs, birds, and mammals. Among all tetrapods both extant and extinct, two Triassic archosauromorphs, Tanystropheus and Dinocephalosaurus, have necks that are particularly elongated relative to the lengths of their trunks....Wang, Wei ; Spiekman, Stephan N F ; Zhao, Lijun ; Rieppel, Olivier ; Scheyer, Torsten M …
Triassic archosauromorphs, Dinocephalosaurus, tetrapods, evolution, and Tanystropheus
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Journal article
New machaeridian data from the Upper Ordovician of Scotland: palaeoecological and global palaeobiogeographical implications
New machaeridian material housed in the National Museum of Scotland alongside the type material held in the Natural History Museum London and the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Cambridge, is documented here from the Ordovician of Girvan. The specimens are included in four taxa, three of these in open nomenclature.... -
Journal article
The landscape of tolerated genetic variation in humans and primates
Personalized genome sequencing has revealed millions of genetic differences between individuals, but our understanding of their clinical relevance remains largely incomplete. To systematically decipher the effects of human genetic variants, we obtained whole-genome sequencing data for 809 individuals from 233 primate species and identified 4.3 million common protein-altering variants with...Gao, Hong ; Hamp, Tobias ; Ede, Jeffrey ; Schraiber, Joshua G ; McRae, Jeremy …