Sciencestage.com offers science television – many good videos all in one place. Here is a video of Paul Sereno talking about digging up dinosaurs.

Via NYTimes: ….In the current issue of the journal Science, paleontologists report on the fossilized remains of a newly discovered mammal from the Mesozoic era, some 123 million years ago. The snouty, 3-ounce, chipmunk-size animal, named Maotherium asiaticus, lived in what is now northeastern China and darted around the feet of the dominant dinosaur overlords, as mammals had been doing for some 100 million years. What makes this proto-Alvin noteworthy are its ears: the crisply preserved fossil indicates that Maotherium’s middle ears were of a middling sort, half mammal and half reptile. Given the timing of the fossil, and evidence…

10 of the most interesting rock formations….

Via the Telegraph An “exceptional” collection of the biggest dinosaur footprints ever recorded has been found by two amateur enthusiasts on an expedition near France’s Jura mountains, palaeontologists said today. Imprints measuring up to 2 metres (6ft 6in) in diameter and stretching over a vast area of land have been uncovered near the village of Plagne, 30 miles west of Geneva, according to the National Centre of Scientific Research.

Via New Scientist: Australian scientists have found that the bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans catalyses the biomineralisation of gold by transforming toxic gold compounds to their metallic form using active cellular mechanism. According to Frank Reith, leader of the research and working at the University of Adelaide, “A number of years ago we discovered that the metal-resistant bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans occurred on gold grains from two sites in Australia… This is the first direct evidence that bacteria are actively involved in the cycling of rare and precious metals, such as gold. These results open the doors to the production of biosensors. “The…

Via Suntimes: … Police will bring a portable laser surface scanner used to create digital images of crime scenes to the museum this Saturday [Oct. 10] The scanner, which weighs about 70 pounds, will take images from six different locations.The public will be able to watch as the scan takes place, because the process is safe to observe…