* Astronomy

 Paleontologists sift Utah soil for plant fossils
Paleontologists are sifting through the soil of an excavated lot in search of ancient plants, the only ones from the early Jurassic period found so far in western North America.
The flora fossils date back 198 million years.

 "Every plant they've identified has been new" - Jim Kirkland, Utah's state paleontologist.

The plant material may fill in information gaps about life during a transitional period between the mass extinction of the late Triassic period and the rise of dinosaurs as a dominant species on the landscape.

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