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Congressman Aaron Schock offers an amendment that ensures the technical skills of the unemployed are used to keep America competitive and talks ACLI with Chairman Bart Gordon

Dr. Darrel Frost is interested in the evolutionary origin and diversification of amphibians and reptiles. His efforts have resulted in revised classifications of iguanian lizards, as well as a general classification and revision of all amphibians. The latter was based on the largest phylogenetic tree ever calculated for a vertebrate group. Dr. Frost also maintains a large online taxonomic catalogue of the world's living amphibians. He feels strongly that meticulously prepared catalogues help knit the world's scientific community together by providing workers in the developing world with access to current literature on the biodiversity of living amphibians.

For more interviews, visit our "Meet the Scientists" channel:
http://www.amnh.org/explore/amnh-tv/(...

Jackrabbits are among the most difficult subjects, says project taxidermist George Dante. In this video, the team finds the jackrabbits are in relatively good shape except for the antelope jackrabbit's ears. A key challenge: painting the delicate interior of the ears to re-create their characteristic translucence.

The restored Hall of North American Mammals reopened October 2012.

PHOTOGRAPHY
AMNH/ Conservation Department

VIDEO
AMNH/J. Bauerle
AMNH/J. Reynolds
S. Sfarra

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Dr. Robert Carneiro's fields of interest in anthropology are threefold: South American ethnology, cultural evolution, and political evolution. He has done field projects on three indigenous tribes inhabiting the Amazon basin: the Kuikuru Indians of central Brazil, the Amahuaca of eastern Peru, and the Yanoramo of southern Venezuela. Currently he is working on a study of manioc, the staple crop of most Amazonian Indians, and is about to start work on a monograph on the Kuikuru. Dr. Carneiro studies the ways in which societies have evolved from simple, autonomous Neolithic villages into ever-larger and more complex polities, passing through various stages of development, including the chiefdom, and culminating in the formation of pre-industrial states and empires, and ascertaining the factors that best account for this transition.

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Dr. Novacek's studies concern patterns of evolution and relationships among organisms, particularly mammals. His interests have ranged from paleontological evidence to new data on DNA sequences. He has led paleontological expeditions to Baja California, Mexico; the Andes Mountains of Chile; and the Yemen Arab Republic in search of fossil mammals and dinosaurs. He also is one of the team leaders of the joint American Museum of Natural History/Mongolian Academy of Sciences ongoing expeditions to the Gobi Desert, begun in 1990.

For more interviews, visit our "Meet the Scientists" channel:
http://www.amnh.org/explore/amnh-tv/(...

Dr. Mac Low's work focuses on understanding the formation of planets, stars, and galaxies. At the smallest scales, he is studying the interaction of planets with their natal circumstellar disks. At scales of less than one light year, he has simulated the behavior of self-gravitating, supersonic, magnetized turbulence to understand the formation of the dense cloud cores in which protostars are observed. At scales of hundreds to thousands of light years, he is studying the influence of multiple supernova explosions on interstellar gas, and how clouds of star-forming molecular gas form. Finally, at the galactic scale of tens of thousands of light years, he studies the large-scale formation of stars in galaxies.

For more interviews, visit our "Meet the Scientists" channel:
http://www.amnh.org/explore/amnh-tv/(...

Dr. Nancy Simmons specializes in the morphology and evolutionary biology of bats (Chiroptera). Together with several collaborators, she is developing a data set of morphological characters scored in species representing all major clades of bats. These data include new information gained from high-resolution CT scans of rare bats and are being combined with DNA sequence data to develop a robust higher-level phylogeny for Chiroptera. With collaborators, she is doing an in-depth study of the evolution of megabats -- flying foxes and their relatives -- using both molecular and morphological data. Dr. Simmons is also working with an expert on echolocation behavior to develop a method for coding features of echolocation calls for phylogenetic analysis.

For more interviews, visit our "Meet the Scientists" channel:
http://www.amnh.org/explore/amnh-tv/(...

Over the last few decades, paleontological artists have often adorned their depictions of extinct, non-avian dinosaurs with a rainbow of picturesque color patterns, in stark contrast to depictions from the earlier part of the 20th Century. In part, this shift reflects the scientific switch from viewing dinosaurs as drab relatives of crocodiles and lizards to viewing dinosaurs as closer relatives of birds. But is there any direct fossil evidence for this change? Well, the answer is no... and yes.

No fossils of extinct dinosaurs, including "mummies" complete with fossilized skin impressions, have yet revealed the true color of the dinosaur's skin, at least in terms of what we usually think of as skin. There are fossils of a couple of turtles from the Cenozoic Era that are thought to preserve the pattern of pigmentation on the shell. Nonetheless, in terms of non-feathered dinosaurs, such as Apatosaurus and duckbills, no evidence for skin color has yet been found.

Recently, however, a great wealth of astounding fossils representing small, feathered dinosaurs that are not birds has been collected in Early Cretaceous rocks in China, especially near Liaoning. Fossilized feathers, basically modified scales that grow in the skin, have been found on numerous specimens. In 2008, researchers discovered microscopic structures, called melanosomes, within fossilized feathers of an ancient bird. Different kinds of melanosomes create different colors in the feathers.

Following this discovery in 2010, two teams of researchers reported finding melanosomes preserved in feathers of two, small, Chinese, non-avian dinosaurs -- Sinosauropteryx and Anchiornis. In the more comprehensive study of Anchiornis, in which 29 samples were analyzed from feathers all over the body of one specimen, revealed that this 155-million-year-old, feathered dinosaur, about the size of a chicken, possessed black-and-white stripped wings and a rusty brown crest of feathers along the top and back of its skull.

Paleontologists and molecular biologists have now searched for a couple of decades to find and replicate DNA from some non-avian dinosaur fossil. But to date, no such unequivocally confirmed results have been obtained, either from fossil bones or teeth preserved in sediments or from some fossil preserved in amber, as was done in Jurassic Park.

To successfully isolate DNA from a long-extinct dinosaur, let alone clone one, scientists would have to overcome numerous serious challenges, including contamination and deterioration of the original DNA. This is because DNA begins to deteriorate and break down into small molecular fragments soon after an organism dies and begins to decay, and when that happens, contamination from external sources, such as organic compounds in the soil or groundwater, quickly follows.

The DNA molecule is composed of subunits, called base pairs, and each pair forms part of the genetic code. In our bodies, each cell contains a billion base pairs, so replicating each in the proper order for an extinct dinosaur would be tremendously difficult. In terms of an analogy, think of the Manhattan phone book. It has an alphabetical order and a specific content, including names and addresses. If that phone book were shredded into millions of tiny pieces of varying lengths, as happens to DNA when it deteriorates, how would you go about reassembling the original book? Names might be missing, but you would not know which ones. These are the kinds of problems that face scientists trying to reconstruct DNA from extinct animals.

Eventually, scientists probably will be able to confirm the presence of DNA from some non-avian dinosaur. But at present, we cannot create carbon copies of organisms that are alive today, even if we have the entire genome in its correct order. Thus, isolating and organizing the decayed DNA from a long-extinct, non-avian dinosaur, even if we found some, would be impossible.

Paleontology is the science of studying fossils from ancient organisms, and paleontologists are scientists who find and study those fossils.

Definitions of exactly what constitutes a fossil vary to some extent, but basically, fossils are naturally preserved physical traces of long-dead organisms. Usually, these traces consist of an organism's hard parts, such as bones, teeth, shells, or wood. Occasionally, when conditions are optimal, soft parts of organisms can also fossilize, such as impressions of skin, body outlines, and, more commonly, leaves. In almost all cases, fossils provide information about the original shape and structure of these physical traces; however, they usually do not provide any information about the original color of the body parts. Other traces of objects made by organisms, such as footprints, burrows, and nests, also qualify to be called fossils. Also, most definitions of fossils require that the organism's body part or other physical trace be more than 10,000 years old in order to truly be called a fossil.

However, objects made by prehistoric humans, such as pottery, arrowheads and buildings, are not considered to be fossils, but instead are referred to as anthropological artifacts.

This video is part of a series, "Dinosaurs Explained," produced by the American Museum of Natural History. In the series, Museum paleontologists answer the most frequently asked questions about dinosaurs.

To watch the videos, go to www.amnh.org/explore/amnh-tv. Click on the "Dinosaurs Explained" Tab on the left side of the page. In the playlist, start with the first question and play each video consecutively for a mini-course in dinosaur fossils.

Episode 1: What Is and Is Not a Dinosaur?
http://youtu.be/Me8BrHY57JI

Episode 2: Who Discovered the First Dinosaur Fossils?
http://youtu.be/FbPGrB-BmH0

Episode 3: How Do Dinosaurs Get Their Names?
http://youtu.be/Wrdmw_Ioovk

Episode 4: Are Any Dinosaurs Still Alive Today?
http://youtu.be/947j2zXm8WA

Episode 5: How Many Kinds of Dinosaurs Are There?
http://youtu.be/xdGe2tMdjxs

Episode 6: Where in the World Did Dinosaurs Live?
http://youtu.be/0lGXGz_lALM

Episode 7: What Is the Earliest-Known Dinosaur?
http://youtu.be/62LK_Ny905o

Episode 8: What Were the Biggest and Smallest Dinosaurs?
http://youtu.be/Icp9eIVMBwU

Episode 9: What Did Dinosaurs Eat?
http://youtu.be/dYrNWPyLtlI

Episode 10: How Fast Were Dinosaurs?
http://youtu.be/GKsygFxt4XI

Episode 11: How Intelligent were Dinosaurs?
http://youtu.be/pXFHtwVQxqk

Episode 12: Did Dinosaurs Fight?
http://youtu.be/hiqlCBH-5C0

Episode 13: How Did Dinosaurs Reproduce?
http://youtu.be/Kp4Dg8XBeUA

Episode 14: Did Dinosaurs Travel in Herds or Packs?
http://youtu.be/jtbpusl0Vo0

Episode 15: What Was Dinosaur Skin Like?
http://youtu.be/6i3EmBNYptk

Episode 16: How Fast Did Dinosaurs Grow, and How Long Did They Live?
http://youtu.be/KyUptMWcmZI

Episode 17: What Color Were Extinct Dinosaurs?
http://youtu.be/bN7XTFlxPTI

Episode 18: Were Dinosaurs Warm-Blooded?
http://youtu.be/oy8Kvt1vOto

Episode 19: How Did All Dinosaurs Except Birds Go Extinct?
http://youtu.be/mCKeogDioWE

Episode 20: Can We Clone Extinct Dinosaurs From DNA Preserved in Their Fossils?
http://youtu.be/H1E_Nwj2dro

Episode 21: What Is a Fossil?
http://youtu.be/WWHJqnfmhQ8

Episode 22: How Do We Know Where to Look for Dinosaur Fossils?
http://youtu.be/XQRZqG7wCPQ

Episode 23: How Are Dinosaur Fossils Discovered and Collected?
http://youtu.be/rYjs8Wtfnzo

Episode 24: How Are Dinosaur Fossils Prepared in the Laboratory?
http://youtu.be/6brUGBR6ll0

Episode 25: How are skeletal mounts of dinosaurs in museum exhibits built?
http://youtu.be/FZNq4SgUqgE

Episode 26: Where are all the dinosaur fossils kept once they're prepared?
http://youtu.be/r8ENj3lTTWk

Episode 27: How Do We Know Which Kind of Dinosaurs Were Most Closely Related?
http://youtu.be/3gNw_6DoVc8

Episode 28: How do we know how long ago dinosaurs lived?
http://youtu.be/6pYPqtdTnrM

Episode 29: In what kind of environments did dinosaurs live?
http://youtu.be/62Z-iSwh3i4

Episode 30: How does studying dinosaurs benefit humanity?
http://youtu.be/vGzVaprEbqs

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Brian Bachmann, an assistant professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt University, has combined his interest in natural products drug production with his hobby of caving to set up the first systematic program to search for novel drugs produced by cave-dwelling microorganisms. Microbes that thrive in these highly competitive environments are good candidates for producing compounds that can be used to fight disease.

Science Bulletins is a production of the National Center for Science Literacy, Education, and Technology (NCSLET), part of the Department of Education at the American Museum of Natural History.
Related Links: Drugs From Deep Down
http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/fin...

Vanderbilt University: Bachmann Lab
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/chemistry/f...

What's Up Down There? Microbial Diversity in Caves
http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/spacew...

Cave Science
http://www.cavescience.com/home.html

Subsurface Life in Mineral Environments (SLiME)
http://www.caveslime.org/

National Spelological Society
http://www.caves.org/

Through Dr. Rozen's worldwide research on the biology, immature stages, and evolutionary relationships of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), the AMNH houses what is believed to be the most complete collection of bee eggs, larvae, and pupae. Since 1949, Dr. Rozen has conducted fieldwork in the United States, Europe, Trinidad, Republic of South Africa, Namibia, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Israel, Pakistan, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan.

For more interviews, visit our "Meet the Scientists" channel:
http://www.amnh.org/explore/amnh-tv/(...