User:H0n0r/sandbox/Haridy

Yara Haridy is a paleontologist and science communicator who studies studies the evolution of teeth and bone.

Biography
Haridy was born in Egypt. She was a pre-med student before finding her interest in paleontology. Her late exposure to the field is part of her motivation for being a science communicator.

In 2021, Haridy was a doctoral candidate at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin

Haridy is most well known for her research on the evolution of osteocytes. In 2021, she published an article in Science Advances explaining how the earliest fish used the minerals in their bones to supply them with energy. The specimens Haridy used for her study were fish that lived 400 million years ago. Using focused ion beam milling and scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), she and her team created 3D scans of bone specimens. This revealed the shape of cavities in the bone that had been occupied by osteocytes. Using the geometry of the cavities, Haridy determined that the osteocytes had been dissolved over time so that the fish could absorb their mineral content into their bloodstream.

University of Birmingham paleontologist Sam Giles commented, “Haridy and colleagues found that the margins around osteocytes were a lower density than the surrounding bone and make a strong case for this being evidence of mineral metabolism.”

Haridy has also done paleopathology, diagnosing the femur of a pappochelys with an osteosarcoma, or bone cancer. The discovery of fossil evidence of prehistoric cancer is helpful in pinpointing the origins of the disease.

Haridy is also known for being part of the team of paleontologists who re-excavated fossils in Métlaoui, Tunisia. In 2011, the natural history museum in Métlaoui was burned down during the Jasmine Revolution. In 2019, Haridy collaborated with local workers and recovered fossil specimens from the ruins. The team catalogued the specimens and sent them to the University of Gafsa to be stored, perhaps for a future Tunisian museum.

In 2018, Haridy began with hashtag #SerialKillerOrScientist showing the occasional absurdity of life as a scientist. The tag caught on and was used by such scientists as Bryan Gaensler and Donna Yates.

In 2021, Haridy appeared as a guest on Short Wave, a science news segment on National Public Radio, discussing her work, the moment she found that FIB-SEM could be used to reveal fossilized osteocytes.