Lost Ecosystem Revealed in Greenland by Oldest Environmental DNA | CNN

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s science bulletin Wonder Theory. To receive it in your inbox, Register for free here.

CNN
—

The past is an ever-changing story, and this week a myriad of discoveries added new details.

Fossils, jewelry, and even DNA unearthed from the earth shed light on some of history’s most mysterious chapters.

Each new discovery is like opening a door to a different era, allowing scientists an intriguing glimpse of what things might have looked like.

It’s fitting that so many revelations are being shared during this reflective period as 2022 draws to a close – even as we anticipate the wonder yet to be discovered as a new year dawns.

Danish scientists have discovered the world’s oldest DNA sequences in Ice Age sediments.

The core, taken from northern Greenland, revealed that the polar region was once rich in plant and animal life 2 million years ago. Mastodons, reindeer, geese, lemmings and hares lived in an ecosystem that was a mixture of temperate and arctic flora and fauna.

Genetic material, shed by all living organisms in the environment so long ago, tells a more complete story of prehistoric life than the fossil record.

This unprecedented ancient ecosystem has no modern equivalent, but it could provide a genetic roadmap for how certain species might adapt to the climate crisis.

For ideas on how to minimize your role in the climate crisis and reduce your eco-anxiety, sign up for CNN’s limited series of Life, But Greener newsletters.

Gems and shiny metals in the earth at a site marked for a UK housing estate were part of a treasure that once belonged to a powerful Anglo-Saxon woman.

The find, called Harpole’s Treasure, includes a superb 1300 year old necklace made of gold, garnets and other semi-precious stones, a large silver cross, decorated pots and a copper dish.

These objects were the grave goods of a high-ranking woman who died between 630 and 670. She could have been a princess or held a position of power in early Christianity. church.

The find ranks among other monumental Anglo-Saxon finds made across England over the past century, including the Sutton Hoo and Staffordshire Hoard hoards.

Apollo 17 became the final mission of NASA’s pioneering lunar program to launch to the moon and return in 1972.

During their trip, astronauts Eugene “Gene” Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt captured the “Blue Marble” photo of Earth.

The image was one of the first breathtaking views of our planet as a globe, vivid against the black void of space. Over time, the image has acquired an almost philosophical resonance, linked to environmental movement and a planetary awareness of our place in the universe.

Now, 50 years after that last Apollo mission, the Artemis program aims to bring humans back on the Moon and eventually land them on Mars, and its maiden mission is set to return to Earth.

After a historic jaunt around the moon, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft is ready to splash down at 12:40 p.m. ET Sunday in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California.

A group of amateur paleontologists called the Rock Chicks were digging through a cattle ranch in outback Australia when they discovered what has been compared to the Rosetta Stone fossils of marine reptiles.

Detectives have discovered the remains of a juvenile long-necked plesiosaur spanning 19 feet (about 6 meters) who lived 100 million years ago. The creature swam in the Eromanga Sea, which covered parts of what is now the interior of Australia during the age of the dinosaurs.

The fossil includes the head, neck and body together – a rare find for marine reptiles, which have not preserved well in one piece.

Astronomers call this alien world the “Hellish Planet” for a reason.

The scorching surface of exoplanet 55 Cancri e, also known as Janssen, is an ocean of lava that reaches 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit (1,982 degrees Celsius).

If you think 2022 is fast approaching, a year on Janssen only lasts 17.5 hours as the planet orbits its star.

Meanwhile, astronomers spotted a bright gamma-ray burst resulting from a rare cosmic explosion, releasing a shower of gold and platinum into space.

Don’t miss these fascinating discoveries:

— The ankylosaurus wielded its mace-like mace against predators such as T. rex. The armored dinosaurs could also have fought each other, based on the discovery of a banged-up fossil.

— The intrepid Ingenuity helicopter has just set a new Mars flight record. And NASA’s Viking 1 may have landed at the site of an ancient megatsunami on the Red Planet.

– Drought-exposed sandbars along the Mississippi River have revealed rare fossils of a giant American lion, extinct 11,000 years ago.