amber
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Fossils are rarely formed in tropical rainforests because of the climate and soil conditions. This makes the insects, plants, and animals preserved in amber from these regions especially important as records of ancient life forms
tree sap
The process that forms amber is still a mystery. No one knows what forces cause tree resin to harden into amber, and the substance is impossible to synthesize. It is also uncertain how organisms are preserved so perfectly inside the hardened amber. These entrapped plants and insects (called "inclusions") are probably kept from deteriorating by dehydration. But the tissue of the trapped organisms doesn't shrink, as normally happens with dehydration, and therefore their cells remain in perfect condition. When researchers found bacteria and plant spores preserved within ancient amber, they wondered about the possibility of reviving them. Some bacteria can survive for hundreds of years in a state of resting/waiting, with all their normal metabolic processes halted, and can then revive themselves when conditions become more favorable. People began to wonder if the same thing could happen to bacteria trapped within amber. 		tree sap On this page: Amber was formed from sap similar to that which can be found on present-day tree trunks. Photos by Maya Walters.

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related topics
[tropical forests] [climate] [soil] [forest life]

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