Laura Cooper
@transitionalform.bsky.social
PhD student in Devonian Palaeobotany at the University of Edinburgh
Pinned
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Reposted by Laura Cooper
An excellent explainer of our new preprint from James Robinson of the multiverses.xyz podcast!
Life on Mars? how a muddy Scottish pond adds to the case #astrobiology #science #mars
YouTube video by multiverses
www.youtube.com
January 25, 2026 at 12:53 PM
An excellent explainer of our new preprint from James Robinson of the multiverses.xyz podcast!
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Important message here: 4 billion years of evolution was not teleological. It was not _meant_ to get to us or our world.
It was doing it own thing in its own time
#Biodiversity
www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-g...
It was doing it own thing in its own time
#Biodiversity
www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-g...
Mysterious Giants Could Be a Whole New Kind of Life That No Longer Exists
Ever since their discovery more than 165 years ago, massive fossilized structures left by an organism known as Prototaxites have proven impossible to categorize.
www.sciencealert.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Important message here: 4 billion years of evolution was not teleological. It was not _meant_ to get to us or our world.
It was doing it own thing in its own time
#Biodiversity
www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-g...
It was doing it own thing in its own time
#Biodiversity
www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-g...
Reposted by Laura Cooper
For this #FernFriday and #FossilFriday, let's look at Symplocopteris wyatti, an early fern from the Carboniferous of Australia 🌿⛏️. This #fern formed trees with "false trunks" up to 50 cm in diameter, composed of several branching stems intertwined with petioles and roots #paleobotany 🧵1/3
January 23, 2026 at 10:32 AM
For this #FernFriday and #FossilFriday, let's look at Symplocopteris wyatti, an early fern from the Carboniferous of Australia 🌿⛏️. This #fern formed trees with "false trunks" up to 50 cm in diameter, composed of several branching stems intertwined with petioles and roots #paleobotany 🧵1/3
Reposted by Laura Cooper
It’s been amazing to receive so much interest in the Prototaxites paper!
An absolute highlight was talking about the work last night to Jane Hill on BBC R4, The World Tonight
The Prototaxites segment starts at 33 mins 👇👇
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
An absolute highlight was talking about the work last night to Jane Hill on BBC R4, The World Tonight
The Prototaxites segment starts at 33 mins 👇👇
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The World Tonight - President Zelensky slams Europeans for being in ‘Greenland mode’ - BBC Sounds
At Davos, the Ukrainian president attacked his European allies for their passivity.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 8:05 AM
It’s been amazing to receive so much interest in the Prototaxites paper!
An absolute highlight was talking about the work last night to Jane Hill on BBC R4, The World Tonight
The Prototaxites segment starts at 33 mins 👇👇
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
An absolute highlight was talking about the work last night to Jane Hill on BBC R4, The World Tonight
The Prototaxites segment starts at 33 mins 👇👇
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
It's been great seeing everyone enjoying the paper and the thread! Just to add:
1 ) It's pronounced "Proto-tax-eye-tees" (not that it would mind being mispronounced)
2 ) Yes it does look like giant penis, but more interesting is that we don't know why or how it got to looking like a giant penis.
1 ) It's pronounced "Proto-tax-eye-tees" (not that it would mind being mispronounced)
2 ) Yes it does look like giant penis, but more interesting is that we don't know why or how it got to looking like a giant penis.
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 22, 2026 at 10:12 PM
It's been great seeing everyone enjoying the paper and the thread! Just to add:
1 ) It's pronounced "Proto-tax-eye-tees" (not that it would mind being mispronounced)
2 ) Yes it does look like giant penis, but more interesting is that we don't know why or how it got to looking like a giant penis.
1 ) It's pronounced "Proto-tax-eye-tees" (not that it would mind being mispronounced)
2 ) Yes it does look like giant penis, but more interesting is that we don't know why or how it got to looking like a giant penis.
Reposted by Laura Cooper
You can also enjoy the TikTok version of this story here: www.tiktok.com/@scientifica...
Towering Prototaxites ruled Earth before trees—and they may have been a form of life entirely new to science. Recent research argues that the ancient organism doesn’t fit into our existing taxonomic h...
TikTok video by Scientific American
www.tiktok.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:26 PM
You can also enjoy the TikTok version of this story here: www.tiktok.com/@scientifica...
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Meet the mysterious Prototaxites: “No matter what...it’s something weird doing its own thing,” one scientist says of the fossil
Mystery tower fossils may be a whole new kind of life
Towering Prototaxites ruled Earth before trees—and they may have been a form of life entirely new to science
www.scientificamerican.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Meet the mysterious Prototaxites: “No matter what...it’s something weird doing its own thing,” one scientist says of the fossil
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Birds have a thick retina devoid of blood vessels - so how do they ensure sufficient oxygen availability?
They don't - neurons rely on glycolysis, metabolizing glucose released from the pecten.
Insane new study that includes comparative data on lizards and crocs.🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
They don't - neurons rely on glycolysis, metabolizing glucose released from the pecten.
Insane new study that includes comparative data on lizards and crocs.🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Oxygen-free metabolism in the bird inner retina supported by the pecten - Nature
While the photoreceptor outer segments in the bird outer retina have access to oxygen, the inner retina operates under chronic anoxia, supported by anaerobic glycolysis in the retinal neurons.
www.nature.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Birds have a thick retina devoid of blood vessels - so how do they ensure sufficient oxygen availability?
They don't - neurons rely on glycolysis, metabolizing glucose released from the pecten.
Insane new study that includes comparative data on lizards and crocs.🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
They don't - neurons rely on glycolysis, metabolizing glucose released from the pecten.
Insane new study that includes comparative data on lizards and crocs.🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Fossil reveals secrets of entirely different form of life no longer found on Earth
Fossil reveals secrets of entirely different form of life no longer found on Earth
Fossil reveals secrets of entirely different form of life no longer found on Earth
www.independent.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Fossil reveals secrets of entirely different form of life no longer found on Earth
Reposted by Laura Cooper
It was a joy to contribute to this paper led by @sandyheth.bsky.social, Corentin Loron and Laura Cooper. We show the Devonian fossil, Prototaxites, is not a fungus but is in fact an organism from an as yet unknown extinct eukaryotic lineage.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@dcu-lsi.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@dcu-lsi.bsky.social
Prototaxites fossils are structurally and chemically distinct from extinct and extant Fungi
Prototaxites fossils are distinct from Fungi, suggesting that they represent an extinct lineage of eukaryotic life.
www.science.org
January 22, 2026 at 2:26 PM
It was a joy to contribute to this paper led by @sandyheth.bsky.social, Corentin Loron and Laura Cooper. We show the Devonian fossil, Prototaxites, is not a fungus but is in fact an organism from an as yet unknown extinct eukaryotic lineage.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@dcu-lsi.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@dcu-lsi.bsky.social
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Very cool paper and thread exploring earth's ancient giant fungi-not-fungi
"the first giant organisms on the Earth’s surface were not closely related to anything alive today. But despite its strangeness, in its time Prototaxites would have had an important role"
"the first giant organisms on the Earth’s surface were not closely related to anything alive today. But despite its strangeness, in its time Prototaxites would have had an important role"
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 22, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Very cool paper and thread exploring earth's ancient giant fungi-not-fungi
"the first giant organisms on the Earth’s surface were not closely related to anything alive today. But despite its strangeness, in its time Prototaxites would have had an important role"
"the first giant organisms on the Earth’s surface were not closely related to anything alive today. But despite its strangeness, in its time Prototaxites would have had an important role"
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Really exciting to get some press coverage on our Prototaxites paper @instmolplantsci.bsky.social @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Aberdeenshire fossil dating back 410 million years joins museum collection
Researchers say the fossil found in Aberdeenshire is neither plant nor fungus as previously thought.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Really exciting to get some press coverage on our Prototaxites paper @instmolplantsci.bsky.social @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Laura Cooper
See also nice summary here in @science.org: www.science.org/content/arti...
Bizarre 400-million-year-old fossil was an unknown life form
Enigmatic organism known as Prototaxites cannot be fungus, new analysis finds
www.science.org
January 21, 2026 at 8:51 PM
See also nice summary here in @science.org: www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Great thread on our big new paper about Prototaxites. We set out to investigate whether these iconic (and sometimes huge) fossils were fungi. Not only are they not fungi, they represent a lost lineage of eukaryotes and an independent origin of complex multicellularity. Crazy!
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 21, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Great thread on our big new paper about Prototaxites. We set out to investigate whether these iconic (and sometimes huge) fossils were fungi. Not only are they not fungi, they represent a lost lineage of eukaryotes and an independent origin of complex multicellularity. Crazy!
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Ol' Four-Eyes is Back: the earliest fishes had four image-forming eyes - paper in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Four camera-type eyes in the earliest vertebrates from the Cambrian Period - Nature
Early vertebrates, particularly myllokunmingids, possessed four camera-type eyes (a pair of lateral eyes and pineal and parapineal organs), which indicates that these structures functio...
www.nature.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Ol' Four-Eyes is Back: the earliest fishes had four image-forming eyes - paper in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Prototaxites is a taxon close to my heart, as it was the first organism we reconstructed in VFX for my first major TV project, Earth, back in 2022. So cool to learn it may have sat on an entirely unknown branch of life!
January 21, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Prototaxites is a taxon close to my heart, as it was the first organism we reconstructed in VFX for my first major TV project, Earth, back in 2022. So cool to learn it may have sat on an entirely unknown branch of life!
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Excited to share our new investigation of Prototaxites!
We found no support for a fungal affinity and instead suggest it is best considered an entirely extinct complex eukaryotic lineage
Great team effort @transitionalform.bsky.social Corentin Loron, and many others!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We found no support for a fungal affinity and instead suggest it is best considered an entirely extinct complex eukaryotic lineage
Great team effort @transitionalform.bsky.social Corentin Loron, and many others!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
January 21, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Excited to share our new investigation of Prototaxites!
We found no support for a fungal affinity and instead suggest it is best considered an entirely extinct complex eukaryotic lineage
Great team effort @transitionalform.bsky.social Corentin Loron, and many others!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We found no support for a fungal affinity and instead suggest it is best considered an entirely extinct complex eukaryotic lineage
Great team effort @transitionalform.bsky.social Corentin Loron, and many others!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
It was great talking with Cody Cottier for an article on our work for Scientific American! www.scientificamerican.com/article/myst...
Mystery tower fossils may be a whole new kind of life
Towering prototaxites ruled Earth before trees—and they may have been a form of life entirely new to science
www.scientificamerican.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:06 PM
It was great talking with Cody Cottier for an article on our work for Scientific American! www.scientificamerican.com/article/myst...
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 21, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Six years ago today 🌿
Aseroe rubra, the Anemone Stinkhorn Fungus, thrives on the rot of the forest floor on the Waihe’e Ridge trail. One of the stranger things I’ve seen, it should be called the Mind Flayer I think.
Aseroe rubra, the Anemone Stinkhorn Fungus, thrives on the rot of the forest floor on the Waihe’e Ridge trail. One of the stranger things I’ve seen, it should be called the Mind Flayer I think.
January 20, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Six years ago today 🌿
Aseroe rubra, the Anemone Stinkhorn Fungus, thrives on the rot of the forest floor on the Waihe’e Ridge trail. One of the stranger things I’ve seen, it should be called the Mind Flayer I think.
Aseroe rubra, the Anemone Stinkhorn Fungus, thrives on the rot of the forest floor on the Waihe’e Ridge trail. One of the stranger things I’ve seen, it should be called the Mind Flayer I think.
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Cow Tools!
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
January 19, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Cow Tools!
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Gary Larson: In my cartoon I invented Cow Tools as a cautionary tale
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
January 19, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Gary Larson: In my cartoon I invented Cow Tools as a cautionary tale
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Hiya, I have 4 more school fact file sheets for #FossilFriday:
#Tianyulong, #Darwinopterus, #Oregramma, and #Caytonia! These are really relaxing to do, and I plan on doing more plants next!
I hope you like them!
#paleontology #paleobotany #paleoart #sciart #scicomm #schoolwork #publiccommunication
#Tianyulong, #Darwinopterus, #Oregramma, and #Caytonia! These are really relaxing to do, and I plan on doing more plants next!
I hope you like them!
#paleontology #paleobotany #paleoart #sciart #scicomm #schoolwork #publiccommunication
January 16, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Hiya, I have 4 more school fact file sheets for #FossilFriday:
#Tianyulong, #Darwinopterus, #Oregramma, and #Caytonia! These are really relaxing to do, and I plan on doing more plants next!
I hope you like them!
#paleontology #paleobotany #paleoart #sciart #scicomm #schoolwork #publiccommunication
#Tianyulong, #Darwinopterus, #Oregramma, and #Caytonia! These are really relaxing to do, and I plan on doing more plants next!
I hope you like them!
#paleontology #paleobotany #paleoart #sciart #scicomm #schoolwork #publiccommunication
Reposted by Laura Cooper
This photo was taken in 1911 using glass plate technology by Herbert Ponting who was part of Scott's Antarctic expedition,
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
January 17, 2026 at 7:12 AM
This photo was taken in 1911 using glass plate technology by Herbert Ponting who was part of Scott's Antarctic expedition,
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
Reposted by Laura Cooper
Kamounia striata -- a 300 million year-old oomycete fossil!
Thank you Christine Strullu-Derrien ☺️ doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
Thank you Christine Strullu-Derrien ☺️ doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
January 14, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Kamounia striata -- a 300 million year-old oomycete fossil!
Thank you Christine Strullu-Derrien ☺️ doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
Thank you Christine Strullu-Derrien ☺️ doi.org/10.1016/j.is...