![]() ![]() But depending on the conditions after death – such as being preserved in a cold, dry place – those genetic clues can last for quite a while. “DNA damage starts basically the second cells begin to die,” Bradshaw says. “We can investigate the presence, or absence, of things that would basically be impossible to see either with the naked eye or under a microscope,” says Museum genetics researcher Alexander Bradshaw. By going in and searching the genetics of such a fossil, from its soft tissue to the food in its gut, researchers can get a clearer view of the invisible connections that once existed. The fossil is like a time capsule, and even includes the DNA. Picture a well-preserved Ice Age mammoth, with skin and soft tissues intact. ![]() And the better the fossil, the more we can glean. Thanks to new techniques and surprising specimens, researchers are starting to understand these connections in more detail than ever before. Any individual animal is at the center of an entire web of interactions. The dinosaur would have avoided predators, unknowingly provided blood meals for biting insects, harbored digestive bacteria in its gut, and more. ![]() Not only would an animal like Utahceratops socialize with members of its own species, but it would interact with other organisms in its environment. Think about how a dinosaur fit into its habitat. Just like their modern counterparts, ancient animals were part of complex ecosystems and wood webs. And that includes what prehistoric organisms ate. New techniques, and new questions, are peeling back layers on the past we’ve never seen before. Even a single bone contains clues about how that animal grew, how it moved, and other details that allow us to envision the past. The fossil record is bursting with information. Determining what ancient animals ate goes beyond the shape of their teeth. ![]()
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