Digital Morphology
DigiMorph, part of the National Science Foundation
Digital Libraries Initiative
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Technology and computing Hardware
*Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals
**Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
, creates and shares 2D and 3D visualizations of the internal and external structure of living and extinct vertebrates, and a growing number of 'invertebrates.'
The information core for the DigiMorph library is generated using a high-resolution X-ray computed tomographic (X-ray CT) scanner at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. This instrument is comparable to a conventional medical diagnostic
CAT scanner
A computed tomography scan (CT scan; formerly called computed axial tomography scan or CAT scan) is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers ...
, but with greater resolution and penetrating power. The device uses X-rays to take images of thin slices through solid objects, such as bone and rock. Hundreds to thousands of slices are stacked up to create a three-dimensional model of the object, allowing researchers to peer inside without damaging it.
As of 2007, the DigiMorph library contains over a terabyte of imagery of natural history specimens that are important to education and research efforts. The DigiMorph library site now serves imagery, optimized for Web delivery, for over 475 specimens contributed by more than 125 collaborating researchers from natural history museums and universities worldwide.
The CT scanner is housed at the
Jackson School of Geosciences
The Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin unites the Department of Geological Sciences with two research units, the Institute for Geophysics and the Bureau of Economic Geology.
The Jackson School is both old and new. ...
at the University of Texas at Austin and is operated by scientists i
The University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility (UTCT) a designated NSF-supported Multi-User Facility.
External links
DigiMorph
(JSG Online, November 13, 2006)
* ttp://www.ctlab.geo.utexas.edu/ The University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facilitybr>Digital Scanner Brings Fossils Into 3-D View - and Exposes Fake Ones
(PBS Wired Science)
ScientificAmerican.com names Digimorph a Top 50 science and technology Web site
(UT Austin, October 5, 2004)
Study shows dinosaur could fly: Winged creature had birdlike senses, fossil X-rays reveal
(San Francisco Chronicle, August 5, 2004)
(New York Times, August 4, 2004)
* ttps://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1183920 Peering Inside Fossils: Paleontologist Uses High-Tech Scans to Probe Relics of the Past(NPR, March 10, 2003)
American science websites
Paleozoology
Animal anatomy