The French newspaper’s science supplement mentions methodological breakthroughs allowing the study of the organic composition of fossiles thanks to 3D imaging.
The team showed that a 53-million-year-old fossil ant exceptionally preserved in amber had preserved molecular signatures of chitin, an extremely resistant complex sugar used by insects as the main structural component of their exoskeleton.
This discovery results from an international cooperation. They have been published by Science Advances on August 30.
Reference :
R. Georgiou, P. Gueriau, C. Sahle, S. Bernard, A. Mirone, R. Garrouste, U. Bergmann, J.-P. Rueff et L. Bertrand. Carbon speciation in organic fossils using 2D to 3D x-ray Raman multispectral imaging. Science Advances, doi : 10.1126/sciadv.aaw5019
Scientific contacts :
Loïc Bertrand, IPANEMA (CNRS, Ministry of Culture, UVSQ ; Paris-Saclay University), loic.bertrand@synchrotron-soleil.fr
Jean-Pascal Rueff, SOLEIL Synchrotron, jean-pascal.rueff@synchrotron-soleil.fr
Uwe Bergmann, SLAC Stanford, bergmann@slac.stanford.edu