Brian Thomas

• PhD
• Research Associate at University of Liverpool

Reports of proteins in fossilized bones have been a subject of controversy in the scientific literature because it is assumed that fossilization results in the destruction of all organic components. In this paper, a novel combination of analytical techniques is used to address this question for an exceptionally well-preserved Edmontosaurus sacrum e...

Reports of proteins in fossilized bones have ignited an on-going debate because previously it was generally assumed that fossilization results in destruction of all organic components. We combine Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy, cross-polarized light microscopy (XPol), and two variations of Liquid Ch...

Reports of proteins in fossilized bones have ignited an on-going debate because previously it was generally assumed that fossilization results in destruction of all organic components. We combine Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy, cross-polarized light microscopy (XPol), and two variations of Liquid Ch...

Archaeological remains can preserve some proteins into deep time, offering remarkable opportunities for probing past events in human history. Recovering functional proteins from skeletal tissues could uncover a molecular memory related to the life-history of the associated remains. We demonstrate affinity purification of whole antibody molecules fr...

The analysis of collagen stability is of interest in forensics, archaeology, and molecular paleontology. Collagen decay rates are often measured by thermal kinetic studies that employ liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to assay collagen quantities. However, these kinetic studies generally focus on measuring the decreasing levels of col...

Introduction: Despite an extensive published literature, skepticism over the claim of original biochemicals including proteins preserved in the fossil record persists and the issue remains controversial. Workers using many different techniques including mass spectrometry, X-ray, electron microscopy and optical spectroscopic techniques, have attempt...

Second-harmonic generation imaging (SHG) captures triple helical collagen molecules near tissue surfaces. Biomedical research routinely utilizes various imaging software packages to quantify SHG signals for collagen content and distribution estimates in modern tissue samples including bone. For the first time using SHG, samples of modern, medieval,...

REFERENCES 2. METHODS 3. RESULTS I 5. RESULTS III 6. CONCLUSIONS Purpose: Demonstrating the accuracy of an on-site QMS radiocarbon detection system will require comparison to a baseline of industry standard results. Methods: Stable carbon isotope ratios from three fractions of ancient bones were collected using AMS. They were compared to published...