Fossilised Pollen Unlocks 125,000-Year-Old Flower Scents
Scientists recently extracted chemical traces from pollen grains preserved in European lake sediments dating back 125,000 years. These molecules reveal the exact sweet fragrances produced by long-extinct wildflowers that once carpeted Ice Age meadows. The discovery shows how plants and pollinators co-evolved long before humans walked the landscape.
💡 Fun detail:
The preserved scent compounds still smell identical to their modern relatives, letting researchers literally sniff the past.
Source: National Geographic