Leicester Geology in the News

Our Headline-Hitting Research

The news generated by our research activities varies from Radio and TV broadcasts to printed articles, gaining local and worldwide coverage.

Revelations of rotting fish provide scientists with clearer picture of early life

Decaying corpses are usually the domain of forensic scientists, but palaeontologists have discovered that studying rotting fish sheds new light on our earliest ancestry.

Dr Rob Sansom, Dr Sarah Gabbott and Dr Mark Purnell devised a new method for extracting information from 500 million year old fossils -they studied the way fish decompose to gain a clearer picture of how our ancient fish-like ancestors would have looked. Their results indicate that some of the earliest fossils from our part of the tree of life may have been more complex than has previously been thought.

The results published 31 January 2010 in Nature, show that some of the characteristic anatomical features of early vertebrate fossils have been badly affected by decomposition, and in some cases may have rotted away completely. Knowing how decomposition affected the fossils means our reconstructions of our earliest ancestors will be more scientifically accurate.

Dino tooth sheds new light on ancient riddle

Mark Purnell and Vince Williams published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences their work was covered in print media in the United States. June 2009

Scientists led by Dr Mark Purnell discovered major group of dinosaurs had unique way of eating unlike anything alive today

Microscopic analysis of scratches on dinosaur teeth has helped scientists unravel an ancient riddle of what a major group of dinosaurs ate- and exactly how they did it!

Now for the first time, a study has found evidence that the duck-billed dinosaurs- the Hadrosaurs- in fact had a unique way of eating, unlike any living creature today.

Working with researchers from the Natural History Museum, the study uses a new approach to analyse the feeding mechanisms of dinosaurs and understand their place in the ecosystems of tens of millions of years ago. The results are published 30th June 2009 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Palaeontologist Mark Purnell, who led the research, said: "For millions of years, until their extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, duck-billed dinosaurs or hadrosaurs - were the World's dominant herbivores. They must have been able to break down their food somehow, but without the complex jaw joint of mammals they would not have been able to chew in the same way, and it is difficult to work out how they ate. It is also unclear what they ate: they might have been grazers, cropping vegetation close to the ground - like today's cows and sheep - or browsers, eating leaves and twigs - more like deer or giraffes. Not knowing the answers to these questions makes it difficult to understand Late Cretaceous ecosystems and how they were affected during the major extinction event 65 million years ago.

Arsenic and old toenails

Gawen Jenkin and Mark Button March 2009

New research highlights environmental exposure to toxin
Doctoral research at the British Geological Survey by Mark Button of the University of Leicester has used toenail clippings to find fresh evidence of exposure to environmental arsenic within a UK population living close to a former arsenic mine. The research, published online ahead of print in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring, was carried out with Dr Gawen Jenkin, Department of Geology, University of Leicester; Dr Chris Harrington, School of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University and Dr Michael Watts of the British Geological Survey. The research was funded by the British Geological Survey.

Dr Gawen Jenkin was interviewed on Radio Five Live’s Breaking Science programme broadcast 2 March (Episode 21) about work done with research student Mark Button on using toenail arsenic concentrations to assess environmental exposure. You can hear the interview online by clicking here or visiting Dr Jenkin's website

Professor Randy Parrish March 2009

Professor Parrish gave evidence at a full Congressional Hearing, which made front page news across America.
The federal agency charged with protecting the public near toxic pollution sites often obscures or overlooks potential health hazards, uses inadequate analysis and fails to zero in on toxic culprits, congressional investigators and scientists say.
“Randall Parrish, a researcher at the University of Leicester, England, found depleted uranium exposure in 20 percent of residents he tested in Colonie, N.Y., where a company once produced uranium weapons for the military. He recommended that ATSDR revisit the area because its earlier health study, without benefit of his test method, assumed it couldn't detect past exposure or tie it to illness years after the plant closed”

10 Million year old chips reveal link between fish diet and evolution

Mark Purnell & David Baines, September 2007

Chips from 10 million years ago have revealed new insights into fish diets and their influence on fish evolution. The chips were found, along with scratches, on the teeth of fossil stickleback fish and reveal for the first time how changes in the way an animal feeds control its evolution over thousands of years.

Published in Science. Covered in local TV (click here to view) and print media, and international print media. Image of stickleback subsequently published by Nature among 2007 'Images of the Year' (see separate press release).

Leicester geologist in discovery of 425 million year old fossil

David Siveter, September 2007

A new arthropod with exceptionally preserved soft-parts in 3D has been discovered by an international team, including Professor David Siveter. The 'Tanazios dokeron,' which is 425 million years old was found during research in ancient marine rocks in Herefordshire.
Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Cold Storage Solution for Global Warming?

Mike Lovell & Ameena Camps, February 2007

Mike Lovell and Ameena Camps propose storing frozen CO₂ in huge underground reservoirs as a way of reducing emissions. Research at UoL and British Geological Survey identified sites offshore Western Europe that would be suitable.

Tahiti Sea Level Expedition Examines History of Global Sea Level Change, El Niño Events

Tim Brewer, December 2006

Scientists from the Department of Geology were among colleagues from nine nations to set sail for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Tahiti Sea Level Expedition, a research expedition initiated to investigate global sea level rise since the last glacial maximum, approximately 23,000 years ago.

Geophys with a Geep*

Ian Hill, December 2006

The GEEP project with Geomatrix Earth Science Ltd, led by Dr Ian Hill, developed a unique instrument that will help professionals such as geologists, archaeologists and engineers automatically collect data about underground structures

'Nymph of the Sea' Reveals Remarkable Brood

David Siveter, November 2006

An exceptionally preserved female fossil ostracod has been discovered in volcanic ash rocks from Herefordshire with a brood of some 20 eggs and 2 possible juveniles inside her.

Research Reaches New Heights as Geologist Identifies New Type of Mountain Range

Dickson Cunningham, March 2006

Dr Dickson Cunningham discovered a new type of mountain range forming today, which have never been identified before.

Mass extinctions - A threat from outer space or our own planet's detox?

Andy Saunders & Marc Reichow, March 2006

Prof Andy Saunders and Dr Marc Reichow suggest extraterrestrial theories are flawed and that more down to earth factors could have accounted for past mass extinctions.

Discovery of 450 Million Years Old 'Missing Link'

Richard Aldridge, Sarah Gabbott, Rowan Whittle & Mark Purnell, May 2005

A 15-year search for fossils in Africa has led to the discovery of eight fish specimens that are 450 million years old - 50 million years older than any previous fish fossil on the continent and amongst the oldest in the world!

Underfunding the earth

Jan Zalasiewicz, Feburary 2005

Jan Zalasiewicz reports Unesco's plan to dissolve its earth sciences division will not only harm the organisation, but adversely affect the ability of the world's poorest nations to understand and manage their own resources.

Learning to take flight

Sarah Gabbott, January 2005

Archaeopteryx, the earliest knows flying bird which lived in the Jurassic period about 147 million years ago, will be one of the stars of a talk given by Dr Sarah Gabbott, of Leicester University as science educators hunt for new ways to put risk excitement and creativity back into teaching at a four-day symposium in Leeds.

We don't have much time

Jan Zalasiewicz, November 2004

Jan Zalasiewicz heads an eminent, mainstream body of geologists which has just published a paper outlining its belief that the world is under serious threat of environmental destruction. Here he explains why it was necessary to speak out.

Early sea spider flashes pincers

David Siveter, October 2004

Scientists have painstakingly recreated an ancient sea spider from the faint imprint it left when it fossilised around 425 million years ago.

No fooling!

Sarah Gabbott, Mike Norry & David Siveter, October 2004

A study in the October Issue of Geology suggests that the mineral pyrite, also known as fool's gold, could help paleontologists learn more about the body plans and innards of organisms.