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Showing results for tags 'biology'.
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Which organisms can convert inorganic matter (as in neither alive or formally alive) into living matter?
Gelatinous squid posted a topic in Questions & Answers
Is it just plants, or can other organisms do it? Life existed before plants, so presumably there had to be another way. Sorry if this is a silly question.- 6 replies
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- abiogensis
- biology
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Hi, For the course I'm doing in biology, I have to perform an experiment or study in which something can be measured, and then complete a write up of it. I want to do something palaeontological for this, but my teachers said no study could be done without having to damage fossils. (I am allowed to consult experts for this coursework) Does anyone have any ideas for a method that wouldn't involve damaging the fossils? I am planning to those supplied by my place of education, and some from my own collection. Thanks!
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Hello together, Something I quite often see in the ID-section are pseudofossils commented as "geological/rock". I dont want to be nitpicking, probably it´s just short for "purely geological". Simply "geological" doesn´t seem opposed to fossil, in my understanding fossils do happen at the interesection between geology and biology. So "no biologic structure"=no fossil (except chemical fossils) , but "geological" seems to apply to all the specimens (if they are not molten plastic, recent bone, or something else entirely. ) English is not my native tongue as you may have noticed, but in my understanding fossils are also rocks, at least some kinds, for example steinkern preservation, (rocks with) impressions... So it may be confusing especially for the newbies that often ask about pseudofossils if "geology" stands as the opposite of fossil. What do you think? Best Regards, J
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Hello all, Yesterday I heard back from James Madison University after applying Early Action back in November. I am delighted to let you all know that I was admitted into the university! I haven't quite made up my mind yet, as I am still waiting to hear back from Virginia Tech, but I will most likely be attending JMU this coming fall semester. I am so excited to carry my journey on the road of paleontology into college with me. I plan on studying geology, likely with a minor in biology. JMU apparently gives their undergraduate students countless internship and research opportunities that many schools reserve for their grad students only. I think I will thoroughly enjoy my time at the college; I've visited several times now and I could go on forever about all the things I love about the place. My mom graduated from JMU and absolutely loved it, and still does today! She was ecstatic when we opened the acceptance letter. My plan at the moment is to attend JMU for four years, and then apply to Virginia Tech for graduate school and work towards a Master's degree and possibly even a PhD. They have an extraordinary vertebrate paleontology research team led by Dr. Sterling Nesbitt, who has discovered and described several prehistoric species including Nundasuchus! I would be honored to work with him and the rest of the team. Through fossil collecting, my fascination with prehistoric life has only grown, and I can't wait to start studying to fulfill my dream of becoming a paleontologist. Ideally, I'd like to do some field work but also would love learning how to prepare and analyze fossils in the lab with the latest technology. I think I'd like to eventually end up as either a staff member at a natural history museum, or a professor of geology at a university. Whatever happens, even if I totally change my mind and decide to pursue and entirely different career, I will use my knowledge and experience that I've gained from this forum and fossil collecting in general to help me reach my goals. Thanks for reading! ~David
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You, the members of The Fossil Forum, inspire me. Keep up the good work.
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I got to spend the day today talking about evolution and fossils with 9 freshman biology classes. It was a lot of fun. Kids these days are smart and ask some well thought out questions.
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a metabolism? I've read in many places now that "life" is very difficult to define. A big question in biology, paleontology, or science in general is "what is life?" or "how do we define life?". NASA's definition is "A self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution". But I'm just wondering why life shouldn't be defined as "anything with a metabolism". Has anything ever lived that didn't have a metabolism? Is there anything that is non-living that does have one? Thanks. Scott
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*Looking for some advice from paleologists and/or geologists* I am thinking about going back to school. I dropped out of college 10 years ago because I was never quite sure what I wanted to do. I have taken a lot of course hours, but I do not have a degree since I basically took anything that interested me. Now that I am 30 and a bit more stable, I would love to go back. I am extremely interested in paleontology, but I know that it requires a lot of school, and it isn't easy. From the small amount of research I did, it seems like most paleontologists do their undergraduate degree in either biology/geology. I would love to hear advice from anyone who has either done or looked into doing this. I live in Florida, so I am thinking UF might be the best choice, but I am also wanting to look into doing as many online courses as possible. Thanks in advance!
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Hi there! My name is Jessica and I'm an ametuer biologist studying at Governors State University in Illinois. I've always been fascinated with science since about grade school; I just haven't really figured out what niche I wish to pursue. I'm leaning towards paleobiology since it combines fossils and geology, and molecular and evolutionary biology. Really anything to do with evolution, I'm interested in. I recently changed my major from anthropology (I wanted to pursue paleoanthropology, but my college doesn't offer much for physical anthro, and biology just seems to have more options, discipline-wise). But I'm excited to finally get into my biology degree! I'm also a self-published author of a few books, but they've really nothing to do with science (yet). More so the fantasy, young adult genre. Anyways, I'm really excited to be a part of this fossil loving community. I recently went on my first fossil hunt last week and, besides being covered in ticks, it was a blast! I left with a split rock with two trilobites (which I'll post pictures once I crop them and get better lighting) and a bucket full of nodules. But this is about as far as my experience goes. I've no idea how to prep or go about breaking open the nodules; though, I've read up about the freeze-thaw method, which is what I'll most likely do. I'm hoping to get some advice from you more experienced lot and hopefully meet some great people in the process! Cheers! -Jessica A.