3D virtual fossils via CT scan

X-ray CT (computed tomography) scans are letting scientists create 3D virtual fossils, including this cockroach that was imaged while still encased in amber.



They've also used it to look at internal organs of larger critters. For example, CT scans now show that "the hollowed bones and air sacs found in modern birds were present in the earliest pterosaurs, suggesting that this characteristic respiratory system - crucial for birds' ability to fly - evolved much earlier than thought"

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