Eelgrass meadows: the coastal lifeline at risk
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CTV News
16 hours ago
- CTV News
How preserved blood vessels found in Saskatchewan's most famous T. rex is opening doors for researchers
'Scotty' is the largest dinosaur skeleton ever found in Canada. (Tourism Saskatchewan) Preserved blood vessel structures discovered in Saskatchewan's most famous Tyrannosaurus rex fossil has opened doors for researchers when it comes to learning how extinct animals healed from injuries. The preserved blood vessel structures were discovered in a rib bone from Scotty the famous T. rex, who was found in Saskatchewan in the 1990s. Jerrit L. Mitchell, a PhD student in the University of Regina's (U of R) Department of Physics and the study's lead author, discovered the vessel structures while finishing his undergraduate honours thesis research. Mitchell joined the ongoing research project in 2019 when Scotty's rib was scanned at the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan for the first time. 'I remember showing my supervisors, Dr. Barbi and Dr. McKellar, a strange structure inside a scan of the rib that I originally didn't give much thought to. They were quick to point out that what I discovered could possibly be preserved blood vessels, which has since led to a much more expansive research project,' Mitchell said in a news release. Synchrotron X-rays produced by the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan gave researchers the opportunity to create a detailed 3D model of both the bone and soft tissue structures inside it without damaging the 66-million-year-old fossil, the release said. 3D printed blood vessel structures 3D printed blood vessel structures. (Canadian Light Source, University of Regina) 'Then, using chemical analysis, the researchers determined what elements and molecules make up the vessel structures, allowing them to hypothesize how the structures were preserved over millions of years.' The X-rays of the fossil's rib also showed a healed fracture that could have been sustained in a fight, according to researchers. Scotty T. rex. healed rib fracture A rib bone from Scotty the T. rex showing a healed rib fracture. (Canadian Light Source, University of Regina) 'The discovery could provide important, evolutionary information to researchers, such as the healing potential of a T. rex,' the release said. 'Preserved blood vessel structures, like we have found in Scotty's rib bone, appear linked to areas where the bone was healing. This is because during the healing process, those areas had increased blood flow to them,' physics professor Mauricio Barbi said in the release. 'This work also provides a new way to compare how injuries healed in extinct animals, like dinosaurs,' Barbi added. The findings were recently published in Scientific Reports, an open-access journal that publishes original research from across natural sciences, psychology, medicine and engineering. The U of R says the multidisciplinary study grew to involve researchers from the school's departments of physics, biology, and earth sciences, along with the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM). RSM curator of palaeontology and adjunct professor at the U of R Ryan McKellar said the discovery proves how fossils like Scotty are much more than museum exhibits. 'They continue to advance science in ways we never imagined when they were first unearthed,' he said. 'Part of our role at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum is to ensure these specimens remain available for research, so it's exciting to see new technology and collaborations between the RSM, the University of Regina, and the Canadian Light Source revealing discoveries, while keeping the fossils intact for future generations,' McKellar said.
Globe and Mail
17 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Photography brings threats to oceans into focus
The world's oceans are critical to human life, and they are under threat from the effects of climate change. Award-winning photographers Shane Gross and Cristina Mittermeier are using their images to aid global marine and freshwater ecosystem conservation efforts, and to bring public attention to the importance of our oceans. Gross, a co-founder of the Canadian Conservation Photographers Collective, and Mittermeier, who is also a trained marine biologist, joined journalists Jenn Thornhill Verma and Ryan MacDonald in a pair of conversations at a Globe and Mail event in Toronto on June 24, in partnership with Rolex. They discussed the power of photography to spur change, responses to some of the best-known images, and current areas of focus. Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity. Jenn Thornhill Verma: You've experienced the ocean from so many different places. What commonalities do you see from behind the camera? Shane Gross: The creatures and the currents don't care about our borders. One example is humpback whales: they'll migrate from Antarctica to French Polynesia. We need to do what we can to make sure that we are protecting not just what's in our waters but beyond that. A big topic of discussion today is the global oceans treaty. Beyond countries' (boundaries) there is still a lot of ocean, and right now it's completely lawless. The global ocean treaty is a United Nations event that hopefully will put some rules in place for that because we desperately need it. JTV: Your seahorse photo is a prime example of how bringing people to an environment they otherwise would not have the opportunity to experience can lend itself to pushing a policy envelope. Talk to us about that image. SG: The place in the photo is Seahorse National Park in the Bahamas. When I first started snorkelling there, we didn't even know what species of seahorses were there. I met with a scientist, Dr. Heather Masonjones, in 2016, and she went and counted how many seahorses were in there. In this pond that's a kilometre-and-a-half by a kilometre, she counted 800,000 seahorses. At the time there was a proposal to turn it into a marina, and also people taking seahorses to sell for the aquarium trade. We teamed up with conservation organizations to get this place protected. We gave talks at schools and used my photo to show the kids, we held community meetings, went to the government and met with the prime minister. It took almost 10 years but it is now fully protected. It's an example that it takes time and it's hard work, but change can happen and photography can be a big tool in that. JTV: How do you choose between sharing stunning images of the natural environment and these painful truths of what we're doing to the environment? SG: A friend of mine did a study for her PhD: she set up a photo gallery using some of my images that showed beautiful pictures with a donation box, then a gallery with hard-to-look-at reality images and a donation box. Then she did a third one that showed both, and a donation box. The first two received about the same amount of donations. It was the third one, showing the balance of the two, that got the most amount of donations. We need and we deserve to see both sides. But we also need to help people to fall in love with the ocean and care about it, and you're going to do that by showing mostly the beauty, in my opinion. JTV: How do you get to know the creatures you photograph, and how does getting to know them influence your work? SG: For me as a kid I know when I would go to the school library and take out a book, there were certain pages I would stop on: 'Wow, look at this fish called the royal grandma. It's half purple and half yellow, isn't that amazing?' I know that could happen for somebody else, and inspire them. It's about finding out what it is about the species or habitat you can show in as cool of a light as possible. Ryan MacDonald: Are there specific issues you want to bring to the forefront in this day and age? Cristina Mittermeier: Canada is a magnificent country. We can choose to coast and feel lucky that we have these resources, or we can be leaders. When I think of the high seas treaty and the countries that have yet to sign it, people are no longer looking at the United States for leadership, but they're going to be looking at us. So much of that hinges on public support. The work that I do is galvanizing public attention, maybe showing you something that you hadn't thought about before and the next time you read about it you'll know it's important. RM: Your photo of kelp speaks to relatability, and it also speaks to conservation. Can you tell us why something like kelp matters as much as all the other images of these beautiful creatures? CM: The ocean is the ecosystem that allows life to exist on planet Earth; it produces half of the oxygen we breathe. Biomes like kelp, like sea grass, are part of this machinery that's absorbing carbon dioxide. The ocean has absorbed 90 per cent of the excess heat on the planet, and now you can see it's no longer able to cope. We were in Indonesia six months ago and the water was 32.5 degrees — just uncomfortable for a human. Imagine what it's like for fish. As a result, we're seeing ecosystems degrade. We need to keep the ocean alive. RM: Tell us about your foundation, how does that figure into your work? CM: SeaLegacy was born when my husband (Paul) and I were shooting an assignment for National Geographic on the Pacific blob (mass of warm water) in 2017, and the temperature of the water from California to Alaska was four to seven degrees warmer than it's supposed to be. The fish sunk to deeper, cooler water, so animals like sea lions were starving. There was also an overabundance of some algae. When it gets too warm they over-bloom and produce toxic substances; when animals eat it, they experience full-body paralysis. It was a horrific thing to photograph, just thousands of dead animals. Paul said to me, 'we have to do more.' We decided to leave National Geographic and start a non-profit. The idea was to take our images and ability to communicate and shine light on the beautiful solutions happening and also on the horrors, to give hope and be a reminder. RM: We're in a fight for truth around the world, so I want to talk a bit about what you're doing to fight against artificial intelligence in image making. CM: It's such a threat to the work of any creative, and the saddest part of it is that we didn't know. When you start uploading your photos to (social media), the tiny little print said they could use all that data to train their robots. The first defence we have is our reputation, truthfulness and credibility. But the second one is I'm part of a coalition of photographers that started an app that opts images out of AI training. We're trying to turn the tap off.
CTV News
17 hours ago
- CTV News
Jurassic World Lego exhibition to make Canadian premier in Edmonton
Part of the Jurassic World by Brickman exhibition can be seen in a screenshot from a promotional YouTube video from Queensland Museum. (Photo: YouTube/Queensland Museum) Two popular worlds are set to collide at the Telus World of Science Edmonton (TWOSE). The international exhibition Jurassic World by Brickman is bringing Lego recreations of dinosaurs and scenes from the Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment franchise. It will be the first Canadian stop for the exhibition, which includes builds of the iconic Jurassic Park gates, a baby dino enclosure and a genetic engineering lab. 'The experience is actually very cool,' said Steve Baker, from TWOSE. 'You feel like you're walking in through the gates of Jurassic World and Jurassic Park … you are immediately immersed inside the experience." Jurassic World by Brickman Part of the Jurassic World by Brickman exhibition can be seen in a screenshot from a promotional YouTube video from Queensland Museum. (Photo: YouTube/Queensland Museum) The Brickman, a team of Lego artists led by Australian Lego master Ryan McNaught, will use six million bricks to bring the movie scenes to life with 50 dinosaurs, props and scenes. According to TWOSE, the fan-favourite T. rex stands more than three metres tall and weighs in at 750 kilograms, while a life-sized brachiosaurus tips the scale at more than two tonnes. Activities for adventurers including island building, Lego paleontology and dinosaur tracking. 'They go through different pods and different sections where they can interact, they can build all kinds of creations,' Baker said. 'It's a constant creation opportunity while learning about paleontology.' The exhibition opens on Oct. 11 and will run into the spring. Tickets went on sale Wednesday.
