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  • Abby Tang: You are the first person

  • to see a bit of Sue's blood vessels.

  • Jasmina Wiemann: Yes. Abby: That's rad.

  • Jasmina: And you're going to be the second.

  • [Abby laughs]

  • It's this hollow

  • branching shape. Abby: Yes, yeah!

  • That Sue in question is Sue the T. rex,

  • and we're about to see proof that she was warm-blooded.

  • We went to the Field Museum

  • to see how they work their magic.

  • Our first stop was ...

  • So, here is our dinosaur and oversize collections.

  • Abby: That's Jingmai O'Connor, and she --

  • you know what? I'll let her tell you.

  • Yeah, I would say I'm one of

  • the world's experts on Mesozoic birds.

  • Not to brag or anything. Nah, I'm just kidding.

  • Abby: And one of the key questions she asks

  • with her research is why birds were the only dinosaurs

  • to survive the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction.

  • We need to look at birds,

  • and then we need to back up from birds

  • and look at the dinosaurs closely related.

  • I think it's kind of funny,

  • but we have a drawer full of bits of Sue.

  • When you have the edge of the puzzle,

  • that's the easiest part to do, right?

  • The inside of the puzzle is harder to put together.

  • So these are like the inside puzzle bits.

  • You can't figure out where they go,

  • but this is to our advantage,

  • because these are the type of fragments

  • that it's OK for us to do destructive analyses on.

  • Abby: The destruction of these rare

  • and one-of-a-kind fossils

  • can involve slicing or dissolving in acid.

  • Slicing allows the scientists

  • to study specimens histologically.

  • You have to cut a piece of the bone, remove it,

  • grind it down so it's really thin

  • so that light can pass through it

  • so you can study it under a microscope.

  • It's a cost-benefit analysis essentially, right?

  • What are the questions you're trying to answer?

  • Is it worth it to damage

  • this extremely rare, important fossil?

  • Abby: To show me how it's done,

  • they demonstrated with a prehistoric bird bone.

  • Jingmai: You're going to bring it to,

  • in our case, Akiko Shinya.

  • She's our chief fossil preparator.

  • She's amazing.

  • Abby: Akiko starts by taking

  • a small slice of the specimen.

  • Jingmai: You then take your little chunk of bone

  • that you've removed, and you drop it into resin.

  • And then this needs to cure for several days.

  • I mean, can you imagine playing Dungeons and Dragons

  • with dinosaur dice? Abby: Dungeons and Dinosaurs.

  • Oh!

  • Exactly.

  • Abby: Then you glue your D6 to a microscope slide

  • and slice it down even more.

  • I did a terrible job with the saw.

  • I almost destroyed everything with the saw, actually.

  • I feel like I'm pushing too hard.

  • Akiko: It's OK. Abby: OK.

  • [yelps]

  • I did it.

  • Abby: At this point, it's too small to slice,

  • so Akiko will grind away extra layers.

  • Abby: We're listening for that "shoog-shoog" sound.

  • [shoog-shooging]

  • The slide ultimately needs to be between

  • 30 and 80 microns thick --

  • thinner than a sheet of paper.

  • Akiko basically uses finer and finer grinders,

  • like varying grades of sandpaper,

  • to slowly shave off extra layers.

  • Akiko: Straight down. That's the key.

  • Abby: I will try my best. Akiko: Yeah, I'll show you.

  • Abby: You scared me now, though.

  • There's a polishing stage to smooth out

  • any major imperfections that might obstruct the sample.

  • You're not getting away from me!

  • And a second polish for fine tuning.

  • This one feels like someone is

  • pulling carpet out from underneath the block.

  • Even with your naked eye, you can learn about a specimen.

  • Here's a piece of Sue's rib,

  • and you can see how Sue grew

  • almost like rings on a tree.

  • You see these faint lines?

  • Yeah.

  • Jingmai: Yeah, it'll be much -- Abby: It looks like agate.

  • Yeah, it'll be much clearer

  • once we get it under a microscope,

  • but those are the lines of arrested growth.

  • Do you want to look in?

  • Jingmai: And here we're looking into

  • the rib of Sue the T. rex.

  • You notice that the space between these lines of growth

  • is becoming smaller and smaller.

  • So when it was younger and really having to bulk up, right,

  • it was growing very quickly.

  • And as it reaches adult size, growth slows down.

  • Abby: The thinness of these sections was surprising

  • because it shows a fast growth rate,

  • a key indicator that Sue had a high metabolic rate,

  • meaning she was probably not as cold-blooded

  • as scientists previously thought.

  • Scientists also looked at another indicator

  • of high metabolism, which is actually color.

  • More diverse colors in a species

  • tends to mean a higher metabolism.

  • Jingmai: Here, we are looking at an SEM image

  • of a sample from a feather

  • of a 130-million-year-old bird

  • called Eoconfuciusornis.

  • Abby: Pre-extinction.

  • Jingmai: So the only fossil bird

  • older than this fossil bird is Archaeopteryx.

  • Abby: A scanning electron microscope relies on

  • electrons instead of light to magnify even more detail.

  • Jingmai: And so if you look closely, you'll see these --

  • this is literally what we call them --

  • sausage-looking structures.

  • [Abby laughs]

  • They are eomelanosomes.

  • So eomelanosomes are responsible for the color black.

  • Abby: Melanosomes are organelles found in animal cells

  • that are associated with different colors.

  • When they fossilize, they leave behind distinct shapes.

  • Jingmai: If they're very nicely aligned with each other,

  • we can tell it's iridescent black.

  • If they're kind of a more oval-shaped eomelanosomes,

  • that's gray, and then if it's a phaeomelanosome,

  • we call these ones meatballs.

  • Literally, this is like,

  • in papers, they're like, Abby: Such a delicious science.

  • "the meatball-shaped ones."

  • Like, mm, I'm hungry.

  • The meatball-shaped phaeomelanosomes are responsible

  • for a rusty red color.

  • Abby: Many of the genes responsible for melanosomes

  • are also linked to things that affect metabolism,

  • so evolving one most likely evolves the other.

  • And with both meatballs and sausages,

  • Eoconfuciusornis shows way more melanosome size diversity

  • than modern-day cold-blooded lizards.

  • Jingmai: So we can say that the dinosaurs

  • that are becoming smaller, that are getting

  • these large extravagant ornamental structures

  • that are then able to evolve flight

  • are also becoming more colorful.

  • Abby: But these melanosomes can only tell us so much.

  • They're an indicator of warm-bloodedness,

  • but not definitive proof.

  • This is where Jasmina comes in.

  • Jingmai: Everything that Jasmina is doing,

  • five years ago that didn't exist.

  • I'm a molecular paleobiologist.

  • My passion lies within

  • the clade of dinosaurs including modern birds.

  • People tend to think of bones and shells

  • and these kind of heart tissues

  • that preserve much more readily.

  • But if we want to get a complete picture

  • about the diversity of life on our planet,

  • we really depend on soft-tissue preservation.

  • Abby: Soft tissue is the squishy stuff like skin,

  • blood vessels, and other non-bony materials

  • that scientists didn't even think

  • could preserve until recently.

  • So, about 30 years ago,

  • a vertebrate paleontologist tried for the first time

  • to extract soft tissues from dinosaur heart tissues.

  • Abby: Her name is Mary Schweitzer,

  • and people did not believe her findings.

  • It was very critically perceived,

  • and people thought for a long time

  • that while these soft-tissue structures

  • very much looked like the original biological structures,

  • they could not possibly be related.

  • Abby: But soft tissues do preserve.

  • Why do they preserve?

  • This is absolutely paradoxical

  • based on what was known scientifically

  • at that point in time.

  • Abby: You can actually see traces of it under a UV light.

  • Jingmai: What we're going to do is just shine the light

  • and look for things.

  • It looks like some of these may be scales

  • that are preserving soft tissue.

  • Not all of them.

  • Abby: Once soft tissues are suspected,

  • demineralization will isolate them if they're present,

  • so you can see the structures.

  • This is where I got to try something with Sue's bones

  • that has never been done before.

  • So, you mentioned that you would like to dissolve

  • a Sue fragment and help us look for organics.

  • Every bone is going to have

  • the tissues that we're looking for

  • if they are in fact preserved.

  • But Sue has exceptional preservation,

  • so we are quite hopeful.

  • Abby: We're taking this bit of Sue

  • and dissolving it in hydrochloric acid.

  • The acid will dissolve any inorganic rock

  • but leave behind the organic soft tissues.

  • It's starting to look like a hazy IPA.

  • Are you seeing anything?

  • Jasmina: It's all still in suspension.

  • Abby: Me too. Jasmina: We'll have to

  • give it a little bit of time.

  • Abby: After about 15 minutes,

  • the precipitate settles

  • and Jasmina pipettes it onto a slide.

  • Jasmina: From here we go to the microscope.

  • Abby: Let's go.

  • Jasmina: Ooh, this is looking good.

  • Abby: What are you seeing?

  • Jasmina: We have a couple of

  • extracellular matrix pieces,

  • blood vessels, large blood vessel fragments.

  • Abby: You are the first person to see

  • a bit of Sue's blood vessels.

  • Jasmina: Yes.

  • I was the second person

  • to see Sue the T. rex's veins.

  • Right now, take a look.

  • Abby: OK.

  • Jasmina: Do you see the blood vessel structures

  • right in the focus center?

  • It's this hollow

  • branching shape. Abby: Yes, yeah!

  • Jasmina: That is definitely one of the

  • bone vascular canals.

  • Abby: [gasps] Oh, I see it real good now.

  • Hold on.

  • They've just been in there the whole time!

  • Jasmina: They've been sitting there

  • for 65 million years. Abby: Just floating around.

  • [Abby laughs]

  • That was rad.

  • Because we can look at this

  • of course fascinated by the fact that,

  • you know, soft tissues preserve in the time,

  • but there's actually a lot of information

  • in the molecular composition

  • of these materials. Abby: Yeah, what can we see?

  • Demineralization shows us that

  • there are soft tissues present in a specimen,

  • including the proteins, lipids,

  • and sugars that indicate a high metabolism.

  • But to concretely say

  • what soft tissues are present

  • and prove that this vein is really a vein

  • and that these metabolic stress markers are actually here,

  • we need to study the chemicals found in the tissues.

  • This requires a brand-new method:

  • an application of Raman spectroscopy

  • developed by Jasmina and her team.

  • Jasmina: It's the brightest, purest green

  • that you will ever see.

  • Yeah, why the green light?

  • We're using a green light that is exactly 532 nanometers.

  • That is particularly good for characterizing organics

  • with many unsaturated carbon bonds.

  • Abby: It's a nondestructive technique,

  • so you can stick entire specimens under the laser

  • without having to prepare them at all.

  • We popped in a piece of Sue taken from her femur core.

  • Jasmina: We want to make sure that we're looking at a spot

  • where we don't have too much surface texture,

  • where we have a lot of carbonaceous material preserved.

  • Abby: The laser excites

  • the different materials in the sample.

  • And so these chemical bonds, they start to vibrate

  • in direct response to their chemical environment.

  • And these very specific little wiggles

  • are then detected in form of a spectrum.

  • Now, if we want to, for example,

  • learn something about the metabolic rate of Sue,

  • we collect the spectrum for Sue

  • and for all other kinds of dinosaurs

  • that have this mode of preservation.

  • I can show you basically what it looks like

  • when you compare these different spectra.

  • Abby: This is Sue's Raman data

  • compared to data Jasmina got from other dinos.

  • Jasmina: So every individual line basically represents

  • evidence of the total composition

  • of one of the fossils we've looked at.

  • So these numbers are sort of different wiggles.

  • Yes.

  • So you get a different wiggle

  • at each of these different wave numbers,

  • and that then evidence is

  • a different kind of molecular bond vibration.

  • So a different kind of chemical compound

  • present in the sample.

  • Abby: Different compounds tell us different things

  • about the dinosaur we're looking at.

  • For example, thioethers,

  • sulfur heterocycles, and nitrogen heterocycles

  • in the soft tissues signal high metabolic stress.

  • We have very high amounts

  • of these metabolic stress markers

  • in warm-blooded animals,

  • and we have very low amounts

  • of these metabolic stress markers in cold-blooded animals.

  • This peak here in combination with this peak here

  • and this one here tells us if we're looking

  • at a warm-blooded or a cold-blooded extinct animal.

  • Abby: This wiggle here is proof

  • that Sue the T. rex was truly warm-blooded.

  • And it once again changes the story of evolution

  • that scientists have been telling

  • and retelling since the early days of paleontology.

  • It has been suggested that the high metabolism of birds

  • eventually helped them to better adapt

  • to the changing environments, the changing conditions

  • right after the mass-extinction event.

  • What we basically realized here once we start putting

  • these new physiological data into context

  • is that this incredibly high avian metabolism

  • is actually not an avian innovation.

  • Abby: It's not just Sue either.

  • Jasmina's work has definitively found

  • that most dinos were warm-blooded,

  • practically upending what was once common knowledge.

  • I have been coming to the Field Museum

  • since I was a little kid.

  • Oh, the Tully monster!

  • This is my favorite fossil!

  • I won't get distracted.

  • Being able to come to the Field Museum

  • and see how the Field Museum works

  • was like a dream come true for tiny paleontologist Abby.

  • The Ab-B-roll.

  • Producer: Got 'em.

  • Jasmina: I cannot do inches. I'm European.

  • [Abby laughs]

Abby Tang: You are the first person

Subtitles and vocabulary

B2 abby sue blooded soft metabolic metabolism

We Dissolved Fossils To Prove Dinosaurs Were Warm Blooded | Science Skills

  • 14 1
    林宜悉 posted on 2022/07/08
Video vocabulary

Keywords

literally

US /ˈlɪtərəli/

UK

  • adverb
  • In a literal manner or sense; exactly
  • In a literal manner or sense; exactly as stated.
  • Used for emphasis to describe something that is actually true, often to highlight surprise or intensity.
  • Used to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling
  • In a literal manner or sense; exactly.
  • Used to indicate that something is effectively or virtually true, even if not technically so.
  • In a literal way; in fact; actually.
  • Used to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true but is used for rhetorical effect.
  • Used to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling.
present

US /ˈprɛznt/

UK /'preznt/

  • other
  • To give, provide, or show something to somebody
  • To give something to someone formally or ceremonially.
  • To give (something) to someone, especially formally or as a gift.
  • Introduce (someone) to someone else.
  • Give or offer (something) to someone.
  • To put on a performance or show.
  • To show or display something.
  • adjective
  • Being in a particular place.
  • Being in a particular place.
  • Being in a particular place; attending or existing.
  • Being in attendance; being there; having turned up
  • Existing or occurring now.
  • Being in a particular place; existing or occurring now.
  • Existing or occurring now.
  • other
  • Be in a particular place.
  • To be in a particular place.
  • To be in a particular place.
  • noun
  • Gift
  • Verb tense indicating an action is happening now
  • Current time; now
  • The period of time now occurring.
  • verb
  • To introduce someone to others
  • To host a program on television or radio
  • To give a speech or presentation
  • To show something to someone who will examine it
  • To appear or happen
  • To give an award or prize to someone
  • other
  • The period of time now occurring.
metabolism

US /mɪˈtæbəˌlɪzəm/

UK /məˈtæbəlɪzəm/

  • noun
  • Chemical processes to convert food to energy
  • other
  • The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
  • The rate at which the body uses energy.
demonstrate

US /ˈdɛmənˌstret/

UK /'demənstreɪt/

  • other
  • To explain or describe something clearly.
  • To show something clearly by giving proof or evidence.
  • verb
  • To display a feeling or ability openly
  • To protest about something often as a group
  • To prove or make clear by reasoning or evidence
  • To show how something works (e.g. product)
  • other
  • To take part in a public demonstration or protest.
evidence

US /ˈɛvɪdəns/

UK /'evɪdəns/

  • noun
  • Factual proof that helps to establish the truth
  • Facts, objects, or signs that show that something exists or is true.
  • other
  • To indicate clearly; to be evidence of.
  • To show clearly; prove.
  • other
  • Information used in a court of law to prove something.
  • Facts, objects, or signs that make you believe that something is true.
  • other
  • Information presented in court to prove or disprove alleged facts.
  • Facts, objects, or signs that make you believe that something exists or is true.
basically

US /ˈbesɪkəli,-kli/

UK /ˈbeɪsɪkli/

  • adverb
  • Used before you explain something simply, clearly
  • Used as a filler word or discourse marker, often to indicate a summary or simplification.
  • In the most important respects; fundamentally.
  • In essence; when you consider the most important aspects of something.
  • Primarily; for the most part.
  • In a simple and straightforward manner; simply.
spectrum

US /ˈspɛktrəm/

UK /'spektrəm/

  • noun
  • a range of different positions, opinions, etc. between two extreme points
  • The wavelengths of colors from red to violet
distinct

US /dɪˈstɪŋkt/

UK /dɪˈstɪŋkt/

  • adjective
  • Clearly different in nature from something else
  • Clearly different or of a different kind.
  • Not the same; different in nature or quality.
  • Clearly noticeable; easily perceived.
represent

US /ˌrɛprɪˈzɛnt/

UK /ˌreprɪ'zent/

  • other
  • To act on behalf of someone in a formal setting.
  • To depict or portray something in a work of art.
  • To stand for or symbolize something.
  • verb
  • To depict art objects, figures, scenes; to portray
  • To show or describe something in a particular way
  • To act on behalf of others in government
  • To act or speak for another person or other people
stress

US / strɛs/

UK /stres/

  • noun
  • Emphasis on part of a word or sentence
  • Pressure on something or someone
  • A state of mental tension, worry due to problems
  • verb
  • To emphasize one or more parts of a word, sentence
  • To put pressure on something or someone
  • To say your opinion strongly
  • To be in a state of mental tension due to problems

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