Live bacteria and archaea have been isolated from several rock salt deposits of up to hundreds of millions of years of age from all around the world. A key factor affecting their longevity is the ability to keep their genomic DNA intact, for which efficient repair mechanisms are needed. Polyploid microbes are known to have an increased resistance towards mutations and DNA damage, and it has bee...

The pattern and sequence of the decomposition of the Pipidae African dwarf frog (Hymenochirus boettgeri) is tracked in an experiment with microbial mats in order to explore soft tissue preservation over three years. Frog decay in microbial mats is preceded by rapid entombment (25-30 days) and mediated by the formation of a sarcophagus, which is built by a complex microbial community. The frog c...

At present, macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) is one of the most essential analytical methods exploited by heritage science. By providing spatial distribution elemental maps, not only does it allow for material characterisation but also to understand, or at least have a likely idea of, production techniques an analysed object. INFN-CHNet, Cultural Heritage Network Italian National Institute Nuc...

Amber and copal are renowned for preserving insects and other inclusions with lifelike fidelity. However, due to their frozenin-time nature, they are taxonomically subequal to Recent insects, which commonly require dissection in order to identify them to species level. This can be overcome to a degree through digital dissection using computed tomography, but this technique is time consuming, ex...

Evaporation of silica-rich geothermal waters is one of the main abiotic drivers of the formation of silica sinters around hot springs. An important role in sinter structural development is also played by the indigenous microbial communities, which are fossilized and eventually encased in the silica matrix. The combination of these two factors results in a wide variety of sinter structures and f...

Closed cryoconite holes (CCHs) are small aquatic ecosystems enclosed in glacier surface ice, and they collectively contribute substantial aquatic habitat to inland Antarctica. We examined the morphology, geochemistry and bacterial diversity of 57 CCHs, spread over seven sites, located on five glaciers, covering a range of latitudes, elevations and distance from open seawater. Isotopes confirmed...

In densely populated countries like Italy, cremation is promoted for the final disposition of dead. However, many families still choose inhumation or entombment. ordinary (traditional) tombs, bodies skeletonize slowly and partially, often need a second disposal after exhumation. The aim this study was to experimentally test functionality new type tomb, defined as “aerated”. Aerated tombs featur...

Subterranean calcite dissolution and precipitation are often considered as strictly geochemical processes. The active involvement of microbes in these processes is commonly underestimated the literature due to general oligotrophic conditions caves, except particular cave conditions, such sulfidic caves moonmilk deposits, where presence likely plays a key role mineral deposition. Here, we study ...

With phylogenetic knowledge of Lepidoptera rapidly increasing, catalysed by increasingly powerful molecular techniques, the demand for fossil calibration points to estimate an evolutionary timeframe for the order is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. The family Nepticulidae is a species rich, basal branch within the phylogeny of the Lepidoptera, characterized by larval leaf-mining habits,...

this article addresses the opera “matthias the painter” by paul hindemith and the analysis of his symphony with the same name. the emphasis is on the social and artistic life of mathias grünewald (who was a painter and a renaissance artist) and how the events around him affected his works. this article attempts to show that expressionism in painting does not exclusively belong to the early twen...