A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.
dart board;; science bs
rule #1: be kind
A praying mantis preserved in amber for millions of years not a sculpture, but a real prehistoric insect trapped in tree resin and fossilized into a natural time capsule.
An entire moment from ancient Earth… frozen before humans even existed.
Check out : https://www.natureknows.org/2024/02/30-million-year-old-praying-mantis-is.html
Man sap was a real problem millions of years ago
It was absolutely not trapped alive for 30,000,000 years...
It got stuck in tree sap, and it died, and 30,000,000 years later it's dead body is still in there.
It's also wasn't some instant snapshot of a moment, it most likely got stuck and then slowly covered until it could no longer breathe.
It was probably upside down when the sap flowed over it. It's antennae are completely vertical and would have been carried in the direction of the sap. Probably suffocated pretty quick, though it's elevated forelimbs might have allowed it to struggle to breathe briefly as it was consumed by sap.
Real question: if the amber prevents the mantis from decaying, and its cells are still intact, is it actually dead? Do we know that for sure?
Real answer: yes, it's as dead as anyone can be. 2 seconds after your death, your body isn't decaying yet, but that doesn't make you alive. Bodies kept in the freezers didn't decay but still, are not alive at all.
If the mantis didn't suffocate somehow, it would die of hunger or old age.
I guess the question is, what distinguishes a “dead” cell from a “live” one if it is not in decay? What makes this Mantis impossible to revive?
Yeah...
Insects breathe thru oxygen exchange thru skin.
You cover up all their skin in amber, they suffocate just like when a kid doesn't poke holes in a jar lid.
Because there's no oxygen, the bacteria also dies and no decay happens.
It's the same as a peat bog corpse. There's no life, it's just with the complete absence of life there's no decay. And the amber seals in moisture so there's no dessication either.
Now on the flips side:
It's not immediate. An old "jail house magic trick" is catch a live fly, put it in a bottle of water, and wait till the mark agrees it's dead. The bet/grift is you can bring it back to life.
And you can, by rolling it in salt for a few seconds, it will get up and fly away.
You have seconds to bring it back, less than a minute
Much, much shorter than 30,000,000 years, that mantis ain't coming back.
Ok, but did we try rolling the mantis in salt?
they suffocate just like when a kid doesn't poke holes in a jar lid.
That shouldn't be up to the kid, it should be up to whoever captured the kid and put them in a jar.
This is the problem with society today...
Back in my day, we had to poke our own airholes!
You're hereby *dis-invited* to my Biggest Fish party.
no way
Can we use science to revive them?
Think of the questions we could ask!
Also, let it fight Baki.
Sold for $6,000 10 years ago? That seems incredibly cheap, not that I am versed in fossilized amber collection.
Many fossils are remarkably affordable, if that's your thing. I've seriously considered buying a megalodon tooth.
You still need to be the kind of person who can spend a few thousand on something largely decorative or of novelty value. But hey, some people buy custom forged battle-ready swords, and some buy designer purses, so you know, whatever.
My god 30 million years, trapped in amber, alive? What madness lies behind those eyes? Can we only pray he never escapes his prison?
Praying didn't help the mantis, did it?
Valid point
The Jaunt is real
Longer than you think,lonGER THAN YOU THINK!!!
Hey guys, I think i found a solution to the slug, fuck the titanium sphere, this evidently works better
I think he's dead man.
Lovely plummage.
I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it, my lad - it’s stone dead!
Genuine titlegore!
Beautiful piece of amber.
It must have gotten really bored
"heading out for some cigarettes, be right back."
Ok, let's bring back the dinos
Where's your god now