Among the most problematic features of the image on the Shroud of Turin is the fact that the unknown process of image formation is confined to the outermost fibers of the linen cloth, with no discernible alteration within the inner volume of the cloth, and that the image contains vertical displacement information, by which a three-dimensional reconstruction of the crucified body is possible. We...

The induction of mineralization by microbes has been widely demonstrated but whether induced biomineralization leads to distinct morphologies indicative of microbial involvement remains an open question. For calcium carbonate, evidence suggests that microbial induction enhances sphere formation, but the mechanisms involved and the role of microbial surfaces are unknown. Here, we describe hydroz...

The sources and mechanisms of soluble salt uptake by porous limestone and the associated degradation patterns were investigated for the life-sized 15th century "entombment of Christ" sculpture group located in Pont-à-Mousson, France, using a multi-isotope approach on sulphates (δ(34)S and δ(18)O) and nitrates (δ(15)N and δ(18)O). The sculpture group, near the border of the Moselle River, is wit...

An enrolled exoskeleton of the holaspid specimen of a tiny agnostid Peronopsis integra (BEYRICH, 1845) entombed inside a conch of the hyolithid ?Buchavalites sp. is described from the middle Cambrian (Drumian) Jince Formation of the Příbram-Jince Basin (Czech Republic). The agnostid is associated with an ichnofossil of the feeding trace classified as Arachnostega-type behaviour. The enrolled at...

In Southwestern Yukon, ice patches have shown substantial retreat since the Little Ice Age (1600–1900 AD) in response to warming trends. These support unique alpine wetlands that formed habitats for diverse flora and fauna over millennia. With retreat, pristine bryophyte populations are exposed beneath accumulated ancient dung. Given bryophytes been survive extreme conditions including entombme...

Exceptionally preserved fossil biotas of the Burgess Shale and a handful of other similar Cambrian deposits provide rare but critical insights into the early diversification of animals. The extraordinary preservation of labile tissues in these geographically widespread but temporally restricted soft-bodied fossil assemblages has remained enigmatic since Walcott's initial discovery in 1909. Here...