3D-Printable Fossil Collection Adds 400 Monkey Skulls

MorphoSource, a database of downloadable files for printing 3D copies of fossils, has added scans of 400 skulls, along with other bones, from 59 different species of monkey.

Launched by Doug Boyer, an assistant professor at Duke University, in 2013, MorphoSource features nearly 9,000 image files from more than 500 species uploaded by more than 70 institutions from around the world. Users can view the files online, zoom in and out or rotate the images and download them to print physical copies. Many of the files feature lesson plans through PaleoTeach.

"Paleoanthropology is traditionally a closed good ol' boy network where fieldwork is done in secret and findings are kept secret," said Steven Churchill, a Duke evolutionary anthropology professor and member of the team that discovered and described Homo naledi, a human ancestor.

"Researchers often sit on fossils for years and years before publishing, and then even after publication it can be hard to see the fossils or even see casts of them," Churchill added in a prepared statement.

The naledi team chose to do things differently, releasing high-resolution scans of more than 80 key specimens to MorphoSource as they announced their discovery.

"Less than 12 hours after the Homo naledi discovery was announced, students in anthropologist Kristina Killgrove's class at the University of West Florida were already poring over 3D printed pieces of the creature's jaw, legs, hands and skull that Killgrove had downloaded and printed on her lab's desktop 3D printer," according to a Duke News release.

Three months after the announcement, the naledi scans had been viewed 43,000 times and downloaded 7,600 times. "We're really proud of that," Churchill said in a news release.

"Paleoanthropology has been relying on digital data more and more," Boyer said in a prepared statement. "Before we released this dataset, only a dozen labs around the world had digital samples that large at their fingertips. Overnight we leveled the playing field in a significant way."

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • teacher and children working with a LEGO Education Science kit

    LEGO Education Debuts Science Kits for Hands-on Learning

    LEGO Education has announced a new learning solution to engage students in hands-on science learning. Available in three kits by grade band, LEGO Education Science provides 120-plus standards-aligned science lessons, teacher materials, and select LEGO bricks and hardware.

  • school building split in half, with one side collapsing into a dark hole

    Office of Educational Technology, National Center for Education Statistics Fall Victim to ED Cuts

    The U.S. Department of Education has announced cuts of nearly half of its staff, numbering more than 1,300 workers, according to AP reporting. While official details on the cuts are not available, early commentary on LinkedIn has revealed drastic cuts in the areas of educational technology and data.

  • Two digital hands made of interconnected lines and nodes shaking hands firmly against a minimal technological background

    IBM to Acquire AI and Data Solutions Provider DataStax

    IBM has announced the planned acquisition AI and data solutions provider DataStax, in a move aimed at enhancing its watsonx portfolio and advancing generative artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for enterprises.

  • zSpace Imagine Learning Solution

    zSpace Debuts Headset-Free AR/VR System

    Immersive learning company zSpace has announced the zSpace Imagine Learning Solution, a headset-free AR/VR laptop system designed for elementary education. The all-in-one platform integrates hardware, software, and hands-on lessons to create dynamic learning experiences for young students.