Leading Off
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In Upstate New York, Ancient Arthropods Can Get Turned Into (Fool’s) Gold. Via Atlas Obscura:
As Martin studied his prize finds, he realized that New York’s golden trilobites were special for more than their appearance—though that did make them stand out, like Eric the opalized pliosaur. The fossils are what’s known as pseudomorphs, minerals that form in the place of another mineral, writes paleontologist Steven Schimmrich at the State University of New York Ulster, in his blog. In the case of the Beecher trilobites, the animals must have been buried in an underwater landslide. As the trilobites decayed, sealed off from oxygen, they released sulfides that reacted with dissolved iron in the surrounding water to form pyrite. It is an exceptionally rare process that can only occur in certain circumstances, Schimmrich writes. But when it does happen, it offers remarkable preservation of detail.
In general, trilobite fossils are so common that you can buy a 10-pack on Etsy for $20. But the pyritization process allows for the preservation of the minute details, such as thread-like legs and microscopic eggs, that disappear in many other examples. Martin uncovered one 450-million-year-old ostracod crustacean, also called a seed shrimp, that was immortalized in pyrite alongside her eggs and hatched embryos, as well as some neighboring Triarthus trilobites, according to a study published in Current Biology in 2014. In 2017, Martin coauthored a paper documenting the first observed trilobite with preserved eggs. Each tiny oval was around 200 micrometers in size, smaller than a grain of table salt. The eggs were found inside the trilobite’s head. Modern horseshoe crabs release their eggs from around the same area, perhaps hinting at where the first arthropods stored their eggs, according to Scientific American.
Texas Tech Track and Field
☝️ 2️⃣2️⃣ ☝️
Ready to start climbing. pic.twitter.com/eClNlFXFUx
— Texas Tech Track & Field (@TexasTechTF) January 8, 2020
✍️ 2️⃣0️⃣ ✍️
First ranking of the season. pic.twitter.com/5AzQjRfFvq
— Texas Tech Track & Field (@TexasTechTF) January 8, 2020
Texas Tech Softball
Check out what @CoachGregoryTTU had to say about the first practice of the year!
🔴#WreckEm | #GOTB⚫️ pic.twitter.com/yBoMdtYE8z
— Texas Tech Softball (@TexasTechSB) January 8, 2020
Lady Raider Basketball
Lady Raiders 80, TCU 76. The Lady Raiders defeated TCU 80-76 (recap) in their first Big 12 Conference win of the year, led by Jo’Nah Johnson who scored 20 points. Sydney Goodson, Lexi Gordon, Chrislyn Carr, and Alexis Tucker all scored in double-figures, whichis great, and Gordon had 15 rebounds. Brittany Brewer had 5 fouls and only had 16 minutes, which makes me think she was in foul trouble for the better part of the game.
FINAL!!
Texas Tech gets the 80-76 win over TCU for our first win in Fort Worth in seven seasons!
🔴#M2M | #WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/fOCXhMmO3b
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) January 9, 2020
We responded. Together.
🔴#M2M | #WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/FuSPwzuewQ
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) January 9, 2020
Texas Tech Basketball
Kuminga Note. Rivals’ Corey Evans has a Jonathan Kuminga twitter question that he answers, namely if Kuminga is down to Duke or Kentucky and the answer is no, but there are a lot of suitors for the forward:
No, not at all. While Duke and Kentucky will have a say with where Jon Kuminga attends college, this is more than just a blueblood recruitment. Kuminga’s brother, Joel Ntambe, plays at Texas Tech, so it cannot be discounted. Neither should Auburn, who has been in to see Kuminga a handful of times within recent months, while Florida State has become known for winning a pressure packed recruitment every year and could be the dark horse with him.
As noted, Kuminga is the brother of Texas Tech forward Joel Ntambe, who is sitting out due to transfer rules and Evans article also notes that Kuminga could reclassify from the 2021 class to part of the 2020 class, so he could enter the mix this coming up year.
Texas Tech Football
Report: Duffey to Tulane. This seems like a pretty perfect fit for Jett Duffey. I think Tulane’s quarterback this past year was a senior, so he should step in for head coach Willie Fritz and the Green Wave and do very well. I wish Duffey the best.
Tulane source tells me:
“it’s a done deal.”Texas Tech graduate transfer Jett Duffey will enroll at Tulane this semester and (presumably) be the Green Wave starter in 2020.
HUGE get for @CoachWEFritz and @GreenWaveFB pic.twitter.com/t4Vn7WpyHg
— Fletcher Mackel (@FletcherWDSU) January 8, 2020
Preferred Walk-On Tight End to Texas Tech. RedRaiderSports’ Ben Golan reports that Kilgore J.C. tight end Jackson Pace (6-3/240) was offered and has accepted a preferred walk-on spot with Texas Tech. That’s good news, I think a junior college tight end is a good thing and one that doesn’t take up a roster spot is also good.
“I was committed to Baylor and decommitted last night and committed to Tech this morning. I have a great relationship with Coach Wells, I love his energy and he’s just fun to be around. I look forward to building a relationship with the rest of the staff.”
Pace played high school ball at Pleasant Grove and knows Texas Tech linebacker Xavier Benson.