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A 200 million-year-old parasite has been discovered in fossilised poo, in the latest not-at-all-scary instance of scientists unearthing a species which blighted the Earth in ancient times. Researchers found that the earliest predators on the planet were infested with roundworm, also known as nematodes, among multiple other parasites. The fossilised poo, which is known to palaeontologists as coprolite, is thought to belong to a type of semi-aquatic phytosaur, which was a crocodile-like predator. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It comes weeks after another team revived a prehistoric worm – the catchily named Panagrolaimus kolymaensis – which was found dormant in the Siberian permafrost in a state of “cryptobiosis”. The latest study saw researchers from Mahasarakham University, Thailand, analyse a three-inch-long portion of ancient poo and discover five types of parasitic remnants. The group sliced open the parasitic egg fossils with a diamond saw using a “standard thin section method,” their report said. The ultra-thin slices allowed the palaeontologists to look at cross-sections of the ancient infectious microbes under a microscope. One was identified as a nematode worm egg, while the others are thought to be either more eggs, protozoan cysts or spores from moss and ferns. While modern parasites are often an important part of ecosystems, it is usually more difficult to work out what their ancient equivalents did, because there are so few examples in the fossil record. The creatures often inhabited the soft tissues of their hosts, but are rarely preserved as fossils, making the latest discovery all-the-more significant. This fossilised late Triassic-era coprolite (the poo), was shielded from the elements in the Huai Hin Lat geological formation in Thailand, which is over 200 million years old. It was found by local villagers, according to the study's lead author, paleontologist Thanit Nonsrirach. “The peculiar appearance of these findings intrigued the villagers, who considered them potentially auspicious and capable of bestowing good luck if repurposed as talismans,” Nonsrirach told news outlet Inverse. “In 2010, our team received word of this discovery and embarked on a field expedition, guiding the villagers to the actual fossil site.” The discovery is the first record of parasites in a terrestrial vertebrate host from the late Triassic period in Asia, and provides a rare look at the life of an ancient creature that was infected by multiple species. This discovery also adds to the few known examples of nematode eggs preserved within the coprolites of Mesozoic animals. “Parasites of several species, including Ascaridida (roundworm) eggs were found in a coprolite, probably produced by a crocodile-like reptile and possibly a phytosaur,” said Nonsrirach, who works at Mahasarakham University's Palaeontological Research and Education Center. “This is therefore the first discovery of Ascaridida eggs and evidence of multi-infection in a host assignable to the Crurotarsi from the Late Triassic of Asia. “Coprolite is a significant palaeontological treasure trove, containing several undiscovered fossils and expanding our understanding of ancient ecosystems and food chains. “These findings are therefore a significant contribution to scientific understanding of the distribution and ecology of parasites of the distant past.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

President Cyril Ramaphosa approved his release, extending the same to more than 9,000 low-risk prisoners.

“Dangerous” carbon monoxide alarms are being sold on eBay, Amazon, AliExpress and Wish, Which? has warned. The consumer champion said the government was failing to take the urgent action needed to hold the marketplaces to account after tests of alarms bought on the sites found they failed to alert households to the presence of the lethal odourless gas. The group is calling for online marketplaces to have more legal responsibility for preventing unsafe products on their platforms. In total, across the five faulty alarms, Which? found 46 listings on AliExpress, 42 on eBay, 41 on Wish and 20 on Amazon. One of the unsafe models was first flagged to eBay by Which? seven years ago but this year’s tests found the model still cannot be relied on to sound when needed. It failed to respond to carbon monoxide 10 times out of 28 CO detection tests and it was far too quiet when it did sound. The same dangerous alarm was listed on AliExpress, Amazon, and Wish. A total, 149 listings for unsafe CO alarms were identified by Which? across the four online marketplaces and have since been removed. EBay is the only online marketplace that discloses sales figures which showed that at least 1,311 of the alarms identified by Which? found had been purchased. The models, all unbranded and made in China, featured prominently on the online marketplaces when listings were filtered by cheapest first, in some cases being sold for as little as £5. Another unbranded CO and smoke alarm, which failed to trigger 22 times when CO was in the air, was listed by 22 eBay sellers, with 718 sales recorded, and by two sellers on AliExpress. A separate unbranded alarm, which failed to sound in 15 carbon monoxide detection tests, was available for sale from six sellers on Amazon and eBay. Last week, the government provided an update on its long-delayed product safety review but it failed to provide reassurances of a crackdown on marketplaces any time soon. The review was launched in March 2021 but Which? said it has still not resulted in any real action to tackle the problem, which could be delayed until after the next general election. Avril Samuel, whose daughter Katie died of CO poisoning at her home, raised concerns about unsafe carbon monoxide alarms being sold online. “A carbon monoxide alarm forms the second line of defence against carbon monoxide poisoning - the first being that all carbon-burning appliances should be regularly maintained and serviced by a registered engineer,” she said. “If the alarm is not to standard, that defence is negated and could have fatal results.” Figures indicate that carbon monoxide poisoning has caused more than 200 accidental deaths in England and Wales in the past decade. Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said: “This is the latest in a long line of examples of unsafe products being readily available on online marketplaces, with far too little action taken by the platforms to prevent them being allowed for sale. “The government cannot delay any longer. It must move at pace to establish new regulations that put consumer safety first and enable tough enforcement action against online marketplaces that break the rules.” Read More Bode Miller says his toddler son Asher was hospitalised for carbon monoxide poisoning 3 US Marines died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a car. Vehicle experts explain how that can happen ULEZ: What is it and why was it created? ‘Demon’ particle inside superconductor may help demystify ‘holy grail’ of physics Astronomer uncovers ‘direct evidence’ of gravity breaking down in the universe Slack announces its biggest ever update

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