Question: What's the coolest thing you've seen working in paleontology.

Octavia Brayley answered on 15 Nov 2023: last edited 15 Nov 2023 2:40 pm

Thanks for your question! During my first degree in Zoology, I was lucky enough to be part of a team at the University of Bristol who were investigating what colours dinosaurs were. I was able to help the researchers out with experiments for a couple of years alongside my degree. We extracted tiny little fossilised proteins from feathers and fossils called melanosomes. These melanosomes provide colourful pigments to different parts of the body…we find them in our skin and our hair (just like birds and other animals). Once we extracted these melanosomes from fossils (using chemical procedures), we then looked at the shape of the proteins under a very high-powered microscope called a Scanning Electron Microscope. By looking at the shape of the melanosomes, we could predict what colour that fossil or dinosaur was! Many dinosaurs had feathers and some were black and grey…but others were really brightly-coloured and had orange, red, and even iridescent feathers! It was a really amazing project to be part of. Here are a couple of fun videos to watch: