The Negaunee Integrative Research Center

His review came with unanimous praise from both external reviewers and the Museum’s Promotions & Review Committee. Since joining the Museum, Fabiany has revitalized the Paleobotany program, modernizing facilities, enhancing collections, and leading groundbreaking research on plant evolution and systematics. His work has significantly expanded our understanding of ancient floras, with studies published in top-tier journals such as Nature Plants and New Phytologist. Fabiany’s research spans from fossil plant seeds, which shed light on plant extinction and dispersal, to the discovery of new plant species from Early Cretaceous floras in Asia and South America. His fieldwork has led to remarkable fossil discoveries that you may have read about in the news, like 66-million-year-old grape seeds, and the origins of yams. He has also been instrumental in securing grants. In addition to his research, Fabiany is a passionate educator and mentor. He is on the faculty of the University of Chicago and the Universidad del Rosario and plays a key role in exhibits and outreach here at FMNH. He is currently a lead scientific advisor for the upcoming After the Dinosaurs exhibit, which will highlight plant evolution following the end-Cretaceous extinction. Congratulations Fabiany!

As laid out in a new study in Current Biology, Jingmai and colleagues found fossilized seeds in its stomach, indicating that the species was eating fruits, despite a long-standing hypothesis that this species used its incredibly strong teeth (enamel 50 microns thick, the same as large predatory dinosaurs) to eat fish, or, according to later hypotheses, insects. About the size of a blue jay, Longipteryx was discovered in 2000, but no specimens with fossilized stomach contents had ever been found—until Jingmai visited the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature a few years back, and noticed two Longipteryx specimens that appeared to have something in their stomachs. She consulted with paleobotanist and Negaunee Associate Curator of Fossil Plants Fabiany Herrera, who was able to determine that the tiny, round structures in the birds’ stomachs were seeds from the fruits of an ancient tree. Since Longipteryx lived in a temperate climate, the team suspects that it probably wasn’t eating fruits year-round, but also ate insects when fruits weren’t available. Still unknown is the function of the long, pointy beak and incredibly strong teeth. “The thick enamel is overpowered, it seems to be weaponized,” says co-author and Resident Grad Student Alex Clark (University of Chicago). “One of the most common parts of the skeleton that birds use for aggressive displays is the rostrum, the beak.” Adds Jingmai, “there are cool little hummingbirds that have keratinous projections near the tip of the rostrum that resemble what you see in Longipteryx, and they use them as weapons to fight each other.” Thus, Longipteryx’s teeth and beak may have served as a weapon, perhaps evolving under social or sexual selection. Overall, the research helps illuminate broader questions in paleontology about the scope and limits of the information revealed by skeletal traits.

Read more in the press release, and in coverage from Newsweek, Discover mag, BBC Wildlife, and The Daily Mail, to name just a few.

* Other co-authors with Jingmai, Alex Clark, and Fabiany: Xin Yang (Field Museum, University of Chicago), Xiaoli Wang (Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Linyi University, Shandong University of Science and Technology), Xiaoting Zheng (Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature), Han Hu (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), and Zhonghe Zhou (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences).

September 27. 2024

The production of snake venom involves thousands of genes, and different species of venomous snakes use different combinations and versions of those genes to produce their toxins. “Knowing what’s in a certain kind of venom can help in the development of antivenom for treating that kind of snakebite,” notes Sara. In addition, compounds in snake venoms are used in pharmaceutical development and human medicine (e.g., the first ACE-inhibitor for high blood pressure was created from a compound found in the venom of a Brazilian pit viper). To identify the genes responsible for venom production in a given species, the team developed a technique called VenomCap, a set of exon-capturing probes—groups of molecules designed to interact with a specific group of genes. VenomCap was designed to bind with any of the several thousands of genes that previous studies have shown are involved with venom production in snakes. Rather than having to sequence a snake’s entire genome (a lengthy and expensive process) and comb through it for 2,000+ possible venom-making genes, VenomCap may provide a quicker, easier means for scientists to see which of these genes a snake possesses. The team tested VenomCap’s ability to bind with venom-producing genes, using tissue samples from the family Elapidae (cobras, mambas, coral snakes, etc.), and found that on average the tool was able to match those results with 76% accuracy. VenomCap could make it easier for scientists to study the relationships between these snakes’ lifestyles and the venoms they produce, as well as provide baseline data for developing effective treatments for snakebite. Read more in the press release, and the coverage in Popular Science.

September 27. 2024

On September 13, the EAF invited former students from the University of Illinois – Chicago and the University of Wisconsin – Madison, to reflect on their experience in the lab, which some have been using since its inception, and continue to do so today. The presenters showed how the EAF has shaped their academic careers and influenced their research and teaching. This one-day conference included nine speakers and a roundtable discussion about the future of Archaeological Science and the EAF, and was attended by Museum colleagues and students and faculty of local universities and institutions. The roundtable (see photo) was moderated by Adjunct Curator Ryan Williams and Research Scientist Laure Dussubieux, co-Directors of the EAF. Speakers included Foreman Bandama (Assistant Curator of African Anthropology), Christina Friberg (Assistant Curator of North American Anthropology, FM), Luis Muro Ynoñán (Career Path Research Scientist), Alison Carter (Associate Professor Anthropology, University of Oregon) and Mark Golitko (Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame). The discussion highlighted the need for more resources to teach Archaeological Science in the U.S., and more community engagement at all levels of research. The day was capped with a reception to honor the Anthropology Alliance, which over the years has generously supported the EAF and Anthropology at the FMNH.

September 27. 2024