New View: Method looks inside embryo fossils
By Sid Perkins
Using an X-ray–scanning technique, scientists have taken a high-resolution peek inside fossilized embryos of some of the earliest multicellular organisms. The procedure offers paleontologists a nondestructive way to see what’s preserved inside ancient rarities smaller than a pinhead and provides fresh insights into the evolution of life on Earth, the scientists say.
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Bones and shells fossilize more readily than an organism’s soft parts do, but even delicate tissues such as the multicellular embryos in eggs laid by marine organisms can be preserved under the right environmental conditions (SN: 1/28/06, p. 56: Available to subscribers at First Steps).