Tracey Peake, News Services, (919) 515-6142
Dec. 14, 2007
A North Carolina State University paleontologist's work on analyzing proteins found in tissue from a 68-million-year-old dinosaur has been ranked the 10th most important science story of 2007 by Discover magazine.
Dr. Mary Schweitzer, associate professor with a joint appointment at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, first caused a stir in 2005 with her discovery of soft tissue in a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil. This year, in a dual effort with colleague John Asara from Harvard, the researchers used multiple analyses to verify and sequence proteins from the ancient tissue that link the T. rex to modern-day chickens, bolstering the idea that modern-day birds descended from dinosaurs.
Each year, the January issue of Discover magazine features a series of short items describing and ranking the previous year's top 100 science stories. This is the second time since Schweitzer came to NC State that her work has been ranked by the magazine.
"Given the amazing science that has come out this year in all the varied disciplines, and especially in paleontology, I am incredibly honored to have made the list," Schweitzer says. "Discover always sets very high standards for this honor, and I am really excited that the work Megan (Wenxia Zheng, Schweitzer's technician) and I did is even considered for this."
"It's gratifying for one of our faculty members to be singled out for this distinction," said Dean Daniel L. Solomon of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. "Dr. Schweitzer's discoveries are fundamentally changing how we view the fossilization process as well as how molecules degrade over time. This work exemplifies the college's emphasis on high-impact research at the interface of the biological and physical sciences."
The January issue of Discover magazine reached newsstands on Dec. 13.
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NC State University News Services (919) 515-3470 or newstips@ncsu.edu