Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Encontrei isto hoje...

"The term resurrection ecology is used to describe two distinct areas of practice. The first is the hatching of dormant eggs of a still living species at a previous stage of its evolution. The second is the act of bringing a subspecies back from extinction by introducing a related subspecies into the original environment, and letting it evolve naturally.

So far it is the first meaning of this term which has received the most attention in the popular and academic communities. Within the past few years a number of prominent biologists have written papers outlining their experiences and successes with this type of resurrection ecology.
Scientists find dormant eggs in a number of sustaining environments: extreme cold, lake beds, and even small sealed pockets in rock formations. These eggs, so far only of insects and plankton, are brought back to life and hatched in incubators. The results are astounding.


A type of zooplankton, Daphnia retrocurva, has caused the most buzz. Eggs of these tiny creatures have been found from nearly a hundred years ago, and when hatched, the creatures that emerge are distinctly different from the Daphnia retrocurva found today. It is a snapshot of evolution over time, and has helped resolve some long-standing debates in the field of evolutionary biology.

(...) "

:O !!! Isto só me lembrar o Jurassic Park! Não sei se isto é extremamente fixe ou incrivelmente assustador..!

mais aqui e aqui

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