Lamniform shark teeth from the Late Cretaceous of southernmost South America (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina)

Here we report multiple lamniform shark teeth recovered from fluvial sediments in the (Campanian-Maastrichtian) Cerro Fortaleza Formation, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. This small tooth assemblage is compared to various lamniform sharks possessing similar dental morphologies, including Archaeolamna, Cretalamna, Dwardius, Dallasiella, and Cretodus. Although the teeth share numerous morphological features with the genus Archaeolamna, including a developed neck that maintains a relatively consistent width along the base of the crown, the small sample size and incomplete nature of these specimens precludes definitive taxonomic assignment. Regardless, the discovery of selachian teeth unique from those previously described for the region broadens the known diversity of Late Cretaceous South American sharks. Additionally, the discovery of the teeth in fluvial sandstone may indicate a euryhaline paleobiology in the lamniform taxon or taxa represented by this tooth assemblage.Fil: Schroeter, Elena R.. Drexel University; Estados UnidosFil: Egerton, Victoria M.. University Of Manchester; Reino UnidoFil: Ibiricu, Lucio Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Lacovara, Kenneth J.. Drexel University; Estados Unido

Marx - From Hegel and Feuerbach to Adam Smith : a New Sysnthesis

In The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 (completed in August 1844) Marx takes two crucial steps in the formation of his worldview. The first relates to his rejection of all 'old' materialism, including Feuerbach's, and the adoption of his own version, which he called 'communist', 'practical'. This view was later presented definitively in the first Thesis on Feuerbach (spring of 1845), and elaborated in The German Ideology (1845-46). The second step relates to Marx's synthesising of the philosophical standpoint that he had developed up to this point (around the spring of 1844) with political economy. Up to this point he had spoken of alienation in largely philosophical terms; now it is rooted in the process of production. On both counts Adam Smith was an important influence. This claim provides the focus of this paper. To make this point successfully I have found it necessary to briefly trace the development of Marx's philosophical standpoint up to the writing of the Manuscripts, and to distinguish between the two methodologically distinct aspects of Adam Smith's thought, the one that Marx accepted and the other that he rejected

Genetic architecture of subcortical brain structures in 38,851 individuals

Subcortical brain structures are integral to motion, consciousness, emotions and learning. We identified common genetic variation related to the volumes of the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, brainstem, caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen and thalamus, using genome-wide association analyses in almost 40,000 individuals from CHARGE, ENIGMA and UK Biobank. We show that variability in subcortical volumes is heritable, and identify 48 significantly associated loci (40 novel at the time of analysis). Annotation of these loci by utilizing gene expression, methylation and neuropathological data identified 199 genes putatively implicated in neurodevelopment, synaptic signaling, axonal transport, apoptosis, inflammation/infection and susceptibility to neurological disorders. This set of genes is significantly enriched for Drosophila orthologs associated with neurodevelopmental phenotypes, suggesting evolutionarily conserved mechanisms. Our findings uncover novel biology and potential drug targets underlying brain development and disease

Characterization of Diagenetiforms in an Expanded Proteome of the Extinct Moa (Dinornithidae): Identifying Biological, Diagenetic, Experimental Artifact, and Mislabeled Modifications in Degraded Tissues

Proteomic analyses of extinct moa (Dinornithidae; ~800–1000 years) bone tissue previously revealed preserved collagens (I, II, and V), as well as several biological post-translational modifications (PTMs) and diagenetic peptide sequence alterations. The diagenetiforms detected in that study provided a baseline of PTM preservation in degraded tissues, identifying sequence alterations that could be accounted for in bioinformatic data searches (e.g., carboxymethyllysine). Subsequently, an improved extraction and sample preparation methodology, coupled with higher resolution mass spectrometry analyses, identified a wealth of previously unidentified non-collagenous proteins (NCPs) from the specimen. Here, in-depth analyses of the PTMs preserved in the expanded data set provide a detailed look at the types of PTMs (i.e., biological, diagenetic, and potential experimental artifacts) that occur in degraded tissues, the proteins they occur on, and the amino acids they modify. In total, 10 biological PTMs (e.g., ubiquitylation) and 18 diagenetic PTMs, including two advanced glycation end products (e.g., dihydroxy methylglyoxal adduction) and 12 types of oxidative damage (e.g., pyrrolidone formation from proline), were detected. In addition, peptides displaying diagenetic backbone cleavage (hydrolysis) were frequently observed to possess unidentified, variable mass shifts at their broken terminus, which search software would attempt to erroneously identify as different PTMs. The modifications characterized in the bones of this specimen, both in collagens and in NCPs, provide insight into patterns of preservation and degradation that paleoproteomic studies can utilize when searching and interpreting data sets from fossil tissue

Data from: Biologically and diagenetically derived peptide modifications in Moa collagens

The modifications that occur on proteins in natural environments over time are not well studied, yet characterizing them is vital to correctly interpret sequence data recovered from fossils. The recently extinct moa (Dinornithidae) is an excellent candidate for investigating the preservation of proteins, their post-translational modifications (PTMs) and diagenetic alterations during degradation. Moa protein extracts were analysed using mass spectrometry, and peptides from collagen I, collagen II and collagen V were identified. We also identified biologically derived PTMs (i.e. methylation, di-methylation, alkylation, hydroxylation, fucosylation) on amino acids at locations consistent with extant proteins. In addition to these in vivo modifications, we detected novel modifications that are probably diagenetically derived. These include loss of hydroxylation/glutamic semialdehyde, carboxymethyllysine and peptide backbone cleavage, as well as previously noted deamidation. Moa collagen sequences and modifications provide a baseline by which to evaluate proteomic studies of other fossils, and a framework for defining the molecular relationship of moa to other closely related taxa

Porphyrin-Based Molecules in the Fossil Record Shed Light on the Evolution of Life

The fossil record demonstrates the preservation of porphyrins (e.g., heme) in organic sediments and the fossilized remains of animals. These molecules are essential components in modern metabolic processes, such as electron transport (cytochromes) and oxygen transport (hemoglobin), and likely originated before the emergence of life. The integration and adaptation of porphyrins and structurally similar molecules (e.g., chlorophylls) are key aspects in the evolution of energy production (i.e., aerobic respiration and photosynthesis) and complex life (i.e., eukaryotes and multicellularity). Here, we discuss the evolution and functional diversity of heme-bound hemoglobin proteins in vertebrates, along with the preservation of these molecules in the fossil record. By elucidating the pivotal role of these molecules in the evolution of life, this review lays the groundwork necessary to explore hemoglobin as a means to investigate the paleobiology of extinct taxa, including non-avian dinosaurs

Moa-HCl-1

Moa HCl extraction run #1 on Orbitrap X