Embalming

The subtle scent left behind by ancient Egyptian mummies may hold much more information than previously thought. By analyzing volatile chemical compounds emitted into the air from mummified remains, researchers have been able to uncover new details about how embalming methods evolved over more than two millennia. Illustration: depositphotos.com

How do mummies smell? Chemical analysis reveals the secrets of ancient Egyptian mummification

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Researchers from the University of Bristol have identified 81 volatile organic compounds in thousands of years old mummified samples, showing how embalming materials have become more complex and sophisticated over the generations.
A scene from about 66 million years ago, depicting the broad-beaked dinosaur Edmontosaurus annectens as it appeared in life, based on “mummies” discovered in east-central Wyoming—preserved scaly skin and hooves. The dinosaur had a fleshy ridge over its neck and torso, a row of fleshy spines over its pelvis and tail, and hooves covering the tips of its hind feet. Credit: Dani Navarro

The first hoofed reptile: Dinosaur "mummies" reveal surprising evolutionary turn

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Paleontologists from the University of Chicago have unearthed fossils of a "duckbill" dinosaur in Wyoming that have been meticulously reconstructed in the university's fossil lab. These fossils preserve soft tissues and external features at impressive resolution, allowing scientists to reconstruct what it looked like
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