I stared at the scan—520 million years, and its brain was still there. Intact. Unbelievable. I haven’t slept in two days, but this thing survived eons. My hands shake, not from awe, but from too much coffee and not enough answers. Everyone’s excited about the preservation. I’m just thinking about how many times I’ve run this protocol, how many samples I’ve ruined, how many times I’ve wondered if I’m the only one who can’t keep it together. They say this fossil will change what we know about evolution. I wonder if anyone will remember who spent nights in the lab, rerunning XCT scans because the first ones weren’t good enough. The fossil’s brain outlasted everything. I’m not sure mine will. #Science #ScienceFatigue #LabBurnout