Amber, valued for its beauty and prehistoric inclusions, usually takes millions of years to form. However, paleontologists, led by Evan Saitta and Thomas Kaye, have developed a rapid method to create amber-like fossils from pine resin within just 24 hours. This innovative technique mimics natural processes through heat and pressure to expedite the fossilization, providing insights into the biochemical processes that would otherwise remain elusive. Their findings could enhance our understanding of these ancient materials and their formation over geological time.
The technique could help reveal the biochemistry of amber as it forms, a process that otherwise would remain hidden in the fog of prehistory.
By both heating and pressuring the samples, the researchers were trying to simulate diagenesis, the slow, wet physical and chemical transformation required before sediment consolidates into rock.
Collection
[
|
...
]