A picture of a crystalline dinosaur egg fossil at Qinglong Mountain in Shiyan, Hubei province, has been selected for Chemical & Engineering News' The year in chemistry through pictures as representative of "how chemistry can both explain the world around us and make it a better place". [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
A picture of a crystalline dinosaur egg fossil at Qinglong Mountain in Shiyan, Hubei province, has been selected for Chemical & Engineering News' The year in chemistry through pictures as representative of "how chemistry can both explain the world around us and make it a better place".
Chemical & Engineering News is a leading source of news about chemistry and related fields. The article, which was published on Dec 2, compiles striking images of events and developments in chemistry around the world that are considered to be among the most influential of the year.
"The picture was selected because of its significant innovation," said Zhao Bi, senior engineer at the Hubei Institute of Geosciences in Wuhan, Hubei province.
"This study is the first to show that isotopic geochronology can be applied to biogenic eggshell minerals. Our findings offer new ways to refine Cretaceous environments, clarify the timelines of evolution, and help humanity explore the ancient world of dinosaurs and the reasons for their extinction."
A picture of a crystalline dinosaur egg fossil at Qinglong Mountain in Shiyan, Hubei province, has been selected for Chemical & Engineering News' The year in chemistry through pictures as representative of "how chemistry can both explain the world around us and make it a better place". [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The picture highlights research published in September that explained how scientists used a uranium-lead isotopic analysis of the minerals within fossilized eggshells to determine their age to be 85.91 million years old. The technique determines age directly from eggshell minerals instead of from surrounding strata, which can be disrupted over time.
Discovered in 1995, the Qinglong Mountain site is home to one of the world's largest and best-preserved collections of dinosaur eggs, numbering over 300,000.
The exact age of the egg group was unknown until late 2023, when scientists discovered three fossils filled with calcite crystals at Hall 1 of the site.
The Hubei institute partnered with the Shaanxi Institute of Geological Survey, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Xi'an Jiaotong University to conduct the research. Their findings were published in Frontiers in Earth Science.
Liu Xueru contributed to this story.
