Microbes 100M Years Old Found In Termite Guts

viyh writes with coverage on MSNBC of the discovery of ancient microbes fossilized in the gut of a termite. "One hundred million years ago a termite was wounded and its abdomen split open. The resin of a pine tree slowly enveloped its body and the contents of its gut. In what is now the Hukawng Valley in Myanmar, the resin fossilized and was buried until it was chipped out of an amber mine. The resin had seeped into the termite's wound and preserved even the microscopic organisms in its gut. These microbes are the forebears of the microbes that live in the guts of today's termites and help them digest wood. ... The amber preserved the microbes with exquisite detail, including internal features like the nuclei. ... Termites are related to cockroaches and split from them in evolutionary time at about the same time the termite in the amber was trapped."

Comments

Re:You forgot one more creature that split: +1, Tr

[MichaelSmith]

You know what, I've been 100% against torture from the beginning

Well good for you!

Re:Summer block buster

[ciderVisor]

A well-reasoned critique of QoS.

Re:You forgot one more creature that split: +1, Tr

[phantomfive]

Hey man, just 'cause you weren't is no reason to be bitter. You can change now and be on the right side. ;)

Re:Yes, but it's in Chickens, not frogs

[gyrogeerloose]

a grain of salt. Or rather, several tons of Sodium Chloride

I can supply that for you. Take a look here.