An ancient predator’s shift in diet offers clues on surviving climate change
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 5-Aug-2025 12:11 ET (5-Aug-2025 16:11 GMT/UTC)
About 56 million years ago, when Earth experienced a dramatic rise in global temperatures, one meat-eating mammal responded in a surprising way: It started eating more bones.
That’s the conclusion reached by a Rutgers-led team of researchers, whose recent study of fossil teeth from the extinct predator Dissacus praenuntius reveals how animals adapted to a period of extreme climate change known as the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The findings, published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, could help scientists predict how today’s wildlife might respond to modern global warming.
Using data analysis and case studies, researchers investigated scientific fraud. They found publication of fraudulent science is likely outpacing the growth rate of legitimate science. Researchers pay for papers, authorships and citations to build reputations. “This study is probably the most depressing project I’ve been involved with in my entire life," says the study's corresponding author.
In a new study published in the BMC Biology, researchers in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard, analyzed 156 limbs from 28 O. serratus fossil specimens to reconstruct the precise movement and function of these mysterious ancient arthropod appendages—shedding light on one of the planet’s earliest and most successful animals.
The grant will fund the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics through 2030, offering opportunities to explore mathematical concepts that underpin everything from AI to industrial design.
In a new study published in the BMC Biology, researchers in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard, analyzed 156 limbs from 28 O. serratus fossil specimens to reconstruct the precise movement and function of these mysterious ancient arthropod appendages—shedding light on one of the planet’s earliest and most successful animals.