Dataset Information

A toolbox for the retrodeformation and muscle reconstruction of fossil specimens in Blender.

ABSTRACT: Accurate muscle reconstructions can offer new information on the anatomy of fossil organisms and are also important for biomechanical analysis (multibody dynamics and finite-element analysis (FEA)). For the sake of simplicity, muscles are often modelled as point-to-point strands or frustra (cut-off cones) in biomechanical models. However, there are cases in which it is useful to model the muscle morphology in three dimensions, to better examine the effects of muscle shape and size. This is especially important for fossil analyses, where muscle force is estimated from the reconstructed muscle morphology (rather than based on data collected in vivo). The two main aims of this paper are as follows. First, we created a new interactive tool in the free open access software Blender to enable interactive three-dimensional modelling of muscles. This approach can be applied to both palaeontological and human biomechanics research to generate muscle force magnitudes and lines of action for FEA. Second, we provide a guide on how to use existing Blender tools to reconstruct distorted or incomplete specimens. This guide is aimed at palaeontologists but can also be used by anatomists working with damaged specimens or to test functional implication of hypothetical morphologies.

SUBMITTER: Herbst EC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9399692 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

A toolbox for the retrodeformation and muscle reconstruction of fossil specimens in Blender.

Herbst Eva C EC Meade Luke E LE Lautenschlager Stephan S Fioritti Niccolo N Scheyer Torsten M TM

Royal Society open science 20220824 8

Accurate muscle reconstructions can offer new information on the anatomy of fossil organisms and are also important for biomechanical analysis (multibody dynamics and finite-element analysis (FEA)). For the sake of simplicity, muscles are often modelled as point-to-point strands or frustra (cut-off cones) in biomechanical models. However, there are cases in which it is useful to model the muscle morphology in three dimensions, to better examine the effects of muscle shape and size. This is espec ...[more]

PMID: 36039284

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundTotal DNA (intracellular, iDNA and extracellular, eDNA) from ancient permafrost records the mixed genetic repository of the past and present microbial populations through geological time. Given the exceptional preservation of eDNA under perennial frozen conditions, typical metagenomic sequencing of total DNA precludes the discrimination between fossil and living microorganisms in ancient cryogenic environments. DNA repair protocols were combined with high throughput sequencing (HTS) of separate iDNA and eDNA fraction to reconstruct metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from ancient microbial DNA entrapped in Siberian coastal permafrost.ResultsDespite the severe DNA damage in ancient permafrost, the coupling of DNA repair and HTS resulted in a total of 52 MAGs from sediments across a chronosequence (26-120 kyr). These MAGs were compared with those derived from the same samples but without utilizing DNA repair protocols. The MAGs from the youngest stratum showed minimal DNA damage and thus likely originated from viable, active microbial species. Many MAGs from the older and deeper sediment appear related to past aerobic microbial populations that had died upon freezing. MAGs from anaerobic lineages, including Asgard archaea, however exhibited minimal DNA damage and likely represent extant living microorganisms that have become adapted to the cryogenic and anoxic environments. The integration of aspartic acid racemization modeling and metaproteomics further constrained the metabolic status of the living microbial populations. Collectively, combining DNA repair protocols with HTS unveiled the adaptive strategies of microbes to long-term survivability in ancient permafrost.ConclusionsOur results indicated that coupling of DNA repair protocols with simultaneous sequencing of iDNA and eDNA fractions enabled the assembly of MAGs from past and living microorganisms in ancient permafrost. The genomic reconstruction from the past and extant microbial populations expanded our understanding about the microbial successions and biogeochemical alterations from the past paleoenvironment to the present-day frozen state. Furthermore, we provided genomic insights into long-term survival mechanisms of microorganisms under cryogenic conditions through geological time. The combined strategies in this study can be extrapolated to examine other ancient non-permafrost environments and constrain the search for past and extant extraterrestrial life in permafrost and ice deposits on Mars. Video abstract.

Dataset Information

A toolbox for the retrodeformation and muscle reconstruction of fossil specimens in Blender.

Publications

A toolbox for the retrodeformation and muscle reconstruction of fossil specimens in Blender.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets