What would the first mammal look like?

The image below might look like your average small rodent - long tail, sharp teeth for insect-eating and small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, it is in fact, what scientists predict the world's first mammal looked like.

An artist’s rendering of the hypothetical placental ancestor (by Carl Buell)

About 65 million years ago, some 70% of the species on the planet were wiped out by some cataclismic event. After this wipeout, a new group of animals emerged which were to evolve to be the most successful on the planet.

The placental mammals vary hugely in size and shape. Of the c. 5,100 species now extant on earth, they range from the bumblebee bat that weighs around 1.5 g (that's just half the weight of a 2 cent (euro) coin!) to the blue whale that weighs in at 190,000 kg.

Now, scientists from around the world have published (pdf) what they believe the first of these mammals looked like. Using a mixture of genetic and morphological data, the team deduced that the "hypothetical placental ancestor" weighed between 6 and 245 g, ate insects and produced single offspring which were born hairless with their eyes closed.

The paper concludes that the placental mammals arose quickly after that cataclismic extinction event, known to scientists as the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) event, probably between 200,000 and 400,000 years afterwards.

Giant controversy resolved?

PM David Cameron at Giant's Causeway
(Image: National Trust/Harrison)

This Summer, the Giants Causeway visitor centre in Co. Antrim re-opened after an £18.5 million rebuild. However the National Trust, who run the facility were forced to defend some of the information presented in the visitor's centre after severe criticism from scientists.

An audio component of the interactive exhibition seemed to suggest that the National Trust was supportive (or at least sitting on the fence) regarding the notion that the Earth could have been formed 6,000 years ago. This was denied by the Trust in a series of statements at the time.

Even scientist and TV presenter Brian Cox has waded into the argument, tweeting: "to suggest there is any debate that Earth is 4.54 billion years old is pure shit".

For more on the original story, see my post.

Now, following a review of the section of the exhibition in question, the National Trust have re-recorded the end of the piece to "clear up any misunderstanding there may have been", according to Graham Thompson, Project Director for the Giant's Causeway.

"The National Trust only endorses the scientific explanation of the origins of the stones yet recognises that others have alternative beliefs", said Mr. Thompson.

You can read the transcripts of the original and new versions of the passage below (click to view a larger version).

Irish deep sea research on National Geographic Channel

Image: VENTuRE Expedition

Irish research will take centre stage this weekend when UCC and NUIG research that has led to discoveries in the mid-Atlantic Ridge, which will feature in a National Geographic programme to be broadcast this Sunday, 28 October.

National Geographic has produced a five part series, The Alien Deep, which takes viewers into underwater worlds where no human has gone before.

The series takes viewers into an underwater world 3,000m deep, where, on the slopes of the Mid-Ocean ridges that divide the earth’s tectonic plates, chimney-like formations spew black plumes of superheated water, packed with chemicals, minerals and dissolved gases allowing life to thrive against the odds.

The scientific team leader was Dr Andy Wheeler, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at University College Cork who worked with scientists from the National University of Ireland Galway, Geological Survey of Ireland, the University of Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre in the UK. “It's great to see Ireland's expertise recognised on TV”, says Dr Wheeler.  “Discovering a new volcanic landscape three kilometres below was a thrill.”

The scientists were on board the Irish National Research Vessel, Celtic Explorer and used the Remotely Operated Vehicle Holland 1 - named for the Irish submarine pioneer John Philip Holland- for their explorations of the deep and was supported by the Marine Institute under the 2011 Ship-Time Programme of the National Development Plan. 

The team named the previously uncharted field of hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the first to be explored north of the Azores, the Moytirra Vent Field.  Moytirra is the name of a battlefield in Irish mythology, and appropriately means ‘Plain of the Pillars’. Patrick Collins from the Ryan Institute, NUI Galway led Ireland’s marine biological team on the survey.

The programme featuring Irish scientists will be broadcast this Sunday 28th October at 6pm on the National Geographic channel on Sky (channel 526) and also UPC (channel 215). The programme presenter is explorer Dr Robert Ballard who discovered the wreckage of the Titanic in 1985.

A Giant Controversy

Finn McCool and Benandonner fight it out on the Giants Causeway (Image: National Trust)

The new Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre will make reference to creationism as an alternative viewpoint on how the geological feature was formed.

The centre, which cost £18.5 million to build, opened on July 3rd after a rebuild necessitated after a fire destroyed the old centre. However, the National Trust has had to issue a statement [pdf] regarding the information presented at the centre and to confirm that the trust is "entirely unequivocal in its acceptance of scientific consensus".

The National Trust issued their statement after criticism of the new educational tours and a statement from a Northern Ireland creationist organisation welcoming the National Trust's acknowledgement "both of the legitimacy of the creationist position on the origins of the unique Causeway stones and the ongoing debate around this".

The Caleb Foundation said that it had engaged with the National Trust "over many months" on the issue. However, the National Trust statement was clear: "All of the information presented to visitors in relation to how the Giant’s Causeway was formed, and how old it is, clearly reflects scientific consensus that the Causeway stones were formed 60 million years ago".

A National Trust spokesperson said: "We reflect, in a small part of the exhibition, that the Causeway played a role in the historic debate about the formation of the earth, and that some people hold views today which are different from scientific consensus. However, the National Trust is entirely unequivocal in its acceptance of scientific consensus".

The Caleb Foundation would seem to have form for this sort of thing. According to their website, they led a campaign in 2010 to get the then NI Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Nelson McCausland to change the Ulster Museum's 'Nature Zone' to reflect creationist ideas and to remove what it called "wholly misleading propaganda" regarding evolution. In a letter to the Minister, the group noted: "the very clear assertion is made across the entire "Nature Zone", that evolution is a fact. This gross and arrogant falsehood is further compounded by the complete absence of even the merest mention of any other theory of origins such as the Biblical account of creation."

A Press Association report says that the interactive exhibition in question at the Causeway includes an audio package in which historic figures debate the origin of the basalt columns. The end of the package includes:

"This debate continues today for some people, who have an understanding of the formation of the earth which is different from that of current mainstream science.
"Young earth creationists believe that the earth was created some 6,000 years ago. This is based on a specific interpretation of the Bible and in particular the account of creation in the book of Genesis.
"Some people around the world, and specifically here in Northern Ireland, share this perspective.
"Young earth creationists continue to debate questions about the age of the earth. As we have seen from the past, and understand today, perhaps the Giant's Causeway will continue to prompt awe and wonder, and arouse debate and challenging questions for as long as visitors come to see it."

The National Trust has attempted to further explain their position on their press office blog.

This is all a very interesting debate. The Caleb Foundation seems to be using Northern Ireland's disturbed past to argue for equality for all points of view. Regarding its Ulster Museum campaign, the group said: "If Northern Ireland is to move towards a shared future on a genuine basis of equality and inclusivity, then it is only right that a publicly funded institution such as the Ulster Museum is fully and sensitively reflective of the various views of society as a whole - including those of evangelical Christians."

The new Giants Causeway Visitor Centre (Image: National Trust)

In reality though, all viewpoints on all topics are not equal and should not require representation, particularly in a scientific and educational setting. Even TV presenter Brian Cox has waded into the argument, tweeting: "to suggest there is any debate that Earth is 4.54 billion years old is pure shit".

The fact is, the arguments of the Caleb Foundation and other 'Young Earth' Creationist advocates have been disproved for years. For example, scientifically informed and enlightened Christians have accepted evolution as fact for a long time. Even the Vatican and the current Pope has accepted evolution as scientific fact and argued that evolution did not exclude a faith in God.

For the NI government and the National Trust to pander to these notions espoused by creationists is disappointing. The Trust seems to argue that mentioning the supposed ongoing debate will do no harm given their commitment to the scientific explanation of how the causeway was formed. Perhaps not - the Irish myth that the 40,000 basalt columns were constructed by legendary hero Finn MacCool also finds a place in the visitor centre. However, nobody is arguing for Finn MacCool to find a place on the science curriculum.

UPDATE 18/07/2012: A spokesperson for the National Trust has said that "having listened to our members' comments and concerns, we feel that clarity is needed...To ensure that no further misunderstanding or misrepresentation of this exhibit can occur, we have decided to review the interpretive materials in this section.”

Coral Beach, Sneem, Co. Kerry

A relaxing break near Sneem Co. Kerry recently allowed for a visit to one of Ireland's two coral beaches.

The beach, near Gleesk Pier is part of the Kerry Geopark. Ireland's only other coral beach can be found near Carraroe, Co. Galway.

While most Irish beaches are made of sand, this beach is made up of tiny pieces of dessicated and sun-bleached algae. Not coral at all, but quite unusual in an Irish context.

It's quite an isolated spot, but if you're in the area it's worth a visit.

Ireland's Geoheritage Uncovered

The National Museum of Ireland, in association with Earth Science Ireland and the Euroscience Open Forum 2012 will host a one-day seminar on Ireland's Geoheritage this month.

The Secrets of Stone aims to increase awareness of Ireland’s geoheritage; what it is, and explaining the diversity of actions and projects in Ireland aimed at making geoheritage accessible to all.

Speakers will include Matthew Parkes, Geological Curator of the Natural History Museum and Sarah Gatley of the Geological Survey of Ireland who will talk on "Geoheritage - why protect a load of old rocks?".

Mary Mulvihill will speak on Earth Science communication - "If the stones could talk" while  Sophie Préteseille, Geologist with the Geological Survey of Ireland will deliver a talk on the growing success of Geoparks.

Patrick Wyse Jackson from Trinity College, Dublin will also give  a talk on "Geological heritage in our museums".

The seminar takes place on Saturday 24th of March and should be of interest to anyone interested in Ireland's scientific history and heritage. For more details on registration, etc. see the Seminar Programme.

Darwin Day Special: Darwin's 'Lost' Fossils

During the Summer of 2011, Howard Falcon-Lang was rummaging around in the windowless vaults of the British Geological Survey when he opened a drawer labelled simply "unregistered fossil plants".

What he found inside was a 'treasure trove' of fossils including some collected by Charles Darwin - who's birth we celebrate this weekend as Darwin Day!

“While searching through an old cabinet, I spotted some drawers marked ‘unregistered fossil plants’. I can’t resist a mystery, so I pulled one open. What I found inside made my jaw drop!” said Falcon-Lang.

“Inside the drawer were hundreds of beautiful glass slides made by polishing fossil plants into thin translucent sheets. This process allows them to be studied under the microscope. Almost the first slide I picked up was labeled ‘C. Darwin Esq.’ This turned out to be a piece of fossil wood collected by Darwin during his famous Voyage of the Beagle in 1834!”

The collection was put together by Darwin's good friend Joseph Hooker while he was employed by the Survey for a short time in 1846.

"The purpose of my visit was to locate some specimens of Carboniferous fossil wood from the Bristol Coalfield", wrote Falcon-Lang in Geology Today. "A rummage quickly turned up the sought after fossils but as we were preparing to leave, my eyes fell on a series of drawers marked ‘unregistered fossil plants’. I can’t resist a mystery, so I pulled one open".

Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker (1817-1911) was one of the great botanists of his time and director of Kew Gardens for many years. The slide-mounted samples of fossilised plants in the newly re-discovered collection have the names of donors inscribed on the slides. At least two of the sections of fossil wood were obtained by Darwin during his famous voyage on the Beagle, from 1831 to 1836.

One of the samples (pictured above) comes from Chiloe Island, Chile a place Darwin visited in December 1834 and described it thus: "Chiloe, from its climate is a miserable hole".

There are many specimens from the collection which were not collected by Darwin although understandably given Darwin's fame his samples have stolen a lot of the attention. Other samples are associated with William Nicol, the pioneer of petrography (the detailed study of rocks).

Falcon-Long suggests that the collection probably got lost in the British Geological Survey's storage facility at Keyworth, near Nottingham, UK as a result of bad timing. The Survey didn't start formally registering its acquisitions until 1848. Since then, the samples seem to have been moved around London to various Museums, which at various times held geological collections. It probably arrived in Keyworth in the mid-eighties. Here, a process of cataloguing and photographing is currently ongoing so more fascinating discoveries may yet be waiting around the corner.

You can view a selection from the collection at the British Geological Survey's online museum.

Father of Seismology Celebrated

Irish Scientist Robert Mallet is regarded by many as the 'Father of Seismology' (the study of earthquakes), but despite this he is one Ireland's many unsung scientific heroes.

Now, an exhibition at University College Cork will serve to celebrate the work of this great nineteenth century Irish scientist.


The exhibition, entitled Robert Mallet: Irish Engineer and Scientist, A Commemorative Exhibition will be open at UCC's Boole Library today and run until the 24th of October. The exhibition was curated by the RDS and comes to Cork thanks to the  College of Science, Engineering and Food Science and the School of Biological , Earth and Environmental Sciences at UCC. The exhibition is generously supported by the Heritage Council, the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and The Irish Times.


Mallet, an engineer, geophysicist and seismologist, was born in Dublin on 3rd June 1810, the son of John Mallet who owned a successful iron foundry business. The business, under Robert Mallet's leadership was to provide the ironwork for the Fastnet Rock lighthouse along with the ornate railings around Trinity College, Dublin.

Mallet was elected to the Royal Irish Academy aged just 22, he was a member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (now the British Science Association) and the Royal Geological Society of Ireland.

Mallet's 1846 paper, "The Dynamics of Earthquakes" is considered to be one of the foundations of modern seismology and in 1849, Mallet along with his son, John William,  set out to conduct experiments on Killiney Beach, Co. Dublin.

Mallet buried a container of gunpowder under the beach and detonated it, measuring the energy wave that the explosion created. Using a seismoscope, the father and son team were able to detect and measure the detonation a half a mile away, as the energy travelled in a wave through the sand.

Detail from "Great Neapolitan Earthquake"

Mallet also had a major impact on the fledgling science of seismology when he travelled to Italy at the end of 1857 to study the after affects of the "Great Neapolitan Earthquake".

Writing from his home in Glasnevin, Dublin on 28th December, 1857, Mallet wrote to the Royal Society in London, requesting funding for the trip to Italy:

"The very recent occurrence of a great earthquake in the Neapolitan territory presents an opportunity of the highest interest and value for the advancement of this branch of Terrestrial Physics.
"Within the last ten years only Seismology has taken its place in cosmic science - and up to this time no earthquake has has its secondary or resultant phenomena - sought for, observed, and discussed by a competent investigator - by one conversant with the dynamic laws of the hidden forces we are called upon to ascertain by means of the more or less permanent traces they have left, as Phenomena, upon the shaken territory.
"I have long looked for the occurrence of an opportunity so favourable for inquiry as that which has been just presented. It is one so rare, and in so peculiar and suggestive a region, that I venture to urge, through your Lordship, the Royal Society, that it should not be permitted to be lost to Science.
"I respectfully offer, my Lord, if such be the will of the Royal Society, to proceed at once to Naples and the shaken regions, to collect, discuss, and report the facts.
"In the humble but earnest confidence that I can in this do good service to Science, I submit to the Royal Society whether it see fit to make such a grant, and to entrust the work to me; if so, I should be prepared to set out by the middle of next month."

The scientist used the new invention of photography to record some of his results and the resultant publication: "Great Neapolitan Earthquake of 1857: The First Principles of Observational Seismology' is considered a seminal work.

By 1861, Mallet had moved to live in London, where he died in 1881.

Science Snapshot 9: Geological Time

For the next few weeks, along with some of our usual posts, we'll be posting a 'Science Snapshot' every day.
Science Snapshot was really popular when we ran it last year for Science Week and this will be a continuation along the same theme - that's why this is number nine already!

You can see all of the snapshots so far by clicking here.

Today's image is of some of the geology of the West Cork coast taken in April of this year.

Irish Scientists Search for New Species in the mid-Atlantic

A group of Irish scientists will today lead a mission to the mid-Atlantic in search of strange new species at the bottom of the ocean.

The VENTURE mission is led by Dr. Andy Wheeler from the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at UCC and includes a host of scientists from that institution, along with colleagues from NUIGalway, the Marine Institute and the UK's National Oceanography Centre.

The scientists leave Galway this morning aboard the Marine Institute's research vessel, the RV Celtic Explorer. The mission is being filmed by the National Geographic Channel.

The mission will investigate life 3,000 metres below the surface of the sea and seek out hydrothermal vents using the ship's Remotely Operated Vehicle, the Holland 1.

The Holland 1 is named for the Irish scientist and inventor John Philip Holland who invented the first modern submarines. I've written extensively about Holland on this blog already.

Patrick Collins of NUI Galway says this mission will allow him to find some new marine species: "We hope to find a whole community of previously unknown species, increasing our understanding of deep sea biogeography. There is potential here to put Ireland on the global map as a serious player in deep sea science. This is all the more timely with the exploitation of deep sea and hydrothermal vents for precious metals and rare earth minerals now a reality.”

You can find more information on the VENTURE mission here.
For a Q&A on the mission, see here.
The scientists will be maintaining a blog of their activities during the trip here.
Aaron Lim, a 4th year Earth Science student from UCC is also blogging from the mission here.

Fancy getting to name a new marine species?

Image: (c)Patrick Collins

A team of Irish and UK scientists will shortly embark on a 25-day trip to the depths of the Atlantic ocean as part of a National Geographic-funded study to examine a previously uncharted hydrothermal vent ecosystem.

The work will be filmed by National Geographic and the campaign will be led by Chief Scientist Dr. Andy Wheeler of the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UCC.

The Marine Institute's research vessel, Celtic Explorer will travel to the mid-Atlantic ridge to examine the unique ecosystem in July. "It is literally, an alien world", according to Andy Wheeler.

UCC scientists Prof. John Gamble, Dr. Jens Carlsson, Prof. John Benzie Prof. Tom Cross, Dr. Boris Dorschel will all contribute to the study, alongside a number of scientists from NUI Galway, National Oceanography Centre (UK) in Southampton, University of Southampton and the Geological Survey of Ireland.

For more background on the Venture project, see this article from the Irish Times.

RV Celtic Explorer

Patrick Collins, a researcher at NUI Galway, also taking part in the project, has organised an exciting competition for secondary school students in Ireland. The prize? To get to put your name on one of the many newly discovered species that the team are likely to find as part of the study.

The competition is open to all secondary school students across Ireland and the UK. To enter, students must use their imaginations and understanding of biology and habitats to design their own deep sea hydrothermal vent creature.

The organisers are looking for carefully thought out illustrations along with a description of the creature’s habitat, diet, life and evolutionary history, and whatever else you think is important. The competition will close on June 15 2011, and the winner will be announced after the Celtic Explorer returns to Ireland in August.

For more details on how to enter see the BEES Research Blog.

Mammal size exploded after dinosaurs

A team of international scientists have shown that when the dinosaurs became extinct some 65 million years ago, mammals began to get bigger - a lot bigger!

The study published this week in the journal Science, shows that mammals became a thousand times bigger than they had been once the dinosaurs were out of the way.

"Basically, the dinosaurs disappear and all of a sudden there is nobody else eating the vegetation. That's an open food source and mammals start going for it, and it's more efficient to be an herbivore when you're big," says paper co-author Dr. Jessica Theodor, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary.

The mammals considered as part of the research includes Indricotherium transouralicum, a hornless, rhino-like herbivore that weighed about seventeen tonnes and stood about 18 feet high at the shoulder. That animal lived in Eurasia almost 34 million years ago.

The researchers gathered data on the maximum size for the major groups of land mammals on each continent, including Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates like horses and rhinos), Proboscidea (which includes elephants, mammoths and mastodon), Xenarthra (anteaters, tree sloths and armadillos), as well as a number of other extinct groups.

"that's really rapid evolution"Theodore says the results confirm that ecosystems can reset themselves relatively quickly after a major disruption: "You lose dinosaurs 65 million years ago, and within 25 million years the system is reset to a new maximum for the animals that are there in terms of body size. That's actually a pretty short time frame, geologically speaking," she says. "That's really rapid evolution."

The scientists found that mammals grew to a maximum of about 10 kg when they shared the earth with dinosaurs but up to 17 tonnes once the dinosaurs were gone.

The research, funded by a National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network grant, was led by scientists at the University of New Mexico, who brought together paleontologists, evolutionary biologists and macroecologists from universities around the world.

John Gittleman from the University of Georgia in the US was also involved in the research and says that there is a much better fossil record for mammals than for many other groups. "That's partly because mammals' teeth preserve really well. And as it happens, tooth size correlates well with overall body size" says Gittleman.

"During the Mesozoic, mammals were small," said Gittleman. "Once dinosaurs went extinct, mammals evolved to be much larger as they diversified to fill ecological niches that became available. This phenomenon has been well-documented for North America; we wanted to know if the same thing happened all over the world."

 Image: The largest land mammals that ever lived, Indricotherium (left) and Deinotherium (middle), would have towered over the living African elephant (right). [Credit: Alison Boyer/Yale University]