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Dinosaur means ‘terrible lizard’. The idea that the prehistoric creatures were scaly, sluggish reptiles with sprawling postures that dragged their tails through tropical swamps is deeply imprinted in the collective imagination.
However, science now has a more nuanced understanding of the diversity of dinosaur physiology. Many dinosaurs had brightly colored feathers, just like birds. Dinos lived in many different ecosystems, including the Arctic, where they would have had to deal with snow (if not today’s ice caps) and winters without light.
New research this week adds new details to one of paleontology’s biggest questions: Was dinosaur blood warm or cold?
Dino mite
It is difficult to find evidence that unequivocally shows what dinosaur metabolism was like. Clues from fossilized eggshells and bones have now indicated that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and others were not.
Finding the answer is important because it sheds light on dinosaur behavior. Warm-blooded animals, such as mammals and birds, are more active than their cold-blooded counterparts.
A new study, based on fossils of 1,000 dinosaur species and paleoclimate information, found that the three main dinosaur groups adapted differently, with two of the groups developing the ability to regulate body temperature in the Early Jurassic period, about 180 million years ago.
The research suggested that carnivorous theropods, including T. rex, and herbivorous ornithischians, such as Triceratops and Stegosaurus, spread to live in colder climates during the Early Jurassic period, indicating that they may have evolved the ability to generate body . heat internally.
A long time ago
Researchers have mapped a 64-kilometer-long extinct stretch of the Nile using satellite radar images and sediment analysis.
The ancient Egyptians built some 31 pyramids, including the Great Pyramid of Giza, along the banks of the now-defunct river arm, which the builders likely used to transport stone and other building materials.
The discovery, hidden deep beneath farmland and not visible on aerial photographs, could help archaeologists locate other Egyptian temples and monuments hidden by fields and desert sand that now cover the riverbed.
Pioneers
In another feat of mapping, a 3D model of a cubic millimeter of brain tissue – smaller than a grain of rice – is now available in stunning detail and beauty, thanks to a collaboration between researchers from Harvard University and Google.
A team led by Dr. Jeff Lichtman, a professor of molecular and cellular biology at Harvard, cut the sample into thin sections one-thousandth times as thick as a human hair. Despite the small size of the fragment, it contained 57,000 cells, 230 millimeters of blood vessels and 150 million synapses.
The colored images make the individual components more visible, but otherwise provide a true representation of the tissue.
Ultimately, the team hopes that observing the brain in this way can help scientists understand unsolved medical conditions such as autism.
The climate has changed
The patterns of rings in tree trunks – influenced by sunlight, rainfall and temperature – provide a climate history for each year of their lives, going back hundreds or even thousands of years.
Tree-ring data from nine regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America and Scandinavia, has allowed scientists to reconstruct annual temperatures for Northern Hemisphere summers between the years 1 and 1849 and compare them to last summer’s temperatures.
According to the study, the summer of 2023 was warmer than any other summer during this 2,000-year period.
The temperature then was at least 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the warmest summer during the period studied, the year 246 – when the Roman Empire still ruled Europe and the Mayan civilization dominated Central America.
Fantastic creatures
Marine scientists have used artificial intelligence to decode previously unknown complexity in the calls of sperm whales.
The whales produced a catalog of clicking sounds, which the researchers described as a “phonetic alphabet” for sperm whales.
Sperm whales produce clicks by forcing air through an organ in their heads called the spermaceti, and these sounds can be as loud as 230 decibels – louder than a rocket launch and capable of rupturing human eardrums.
What sperm whales say with their clicks remains a mystery to human ears, but understanding the range of their vocal exchanges is an important step toward linking their sounds to specific behaviors.
The miracle
Sit back with these remarkable reads.
— Astronomers have discovered a special giant planet, as fluffy as cotton candy, about 1,200 light-years from Earth.
– Scientists have solved a mystery about giant South American hummingbirds – with the help of tiny, custom-made backpacks.
— Meet the herpetologist who is trying to save people in India from the dangers of snakebites.
– Etchings found on a castle door in Dover, England, may contain graffiti of the hanged Napoleon Bonaparte, according to English Heritage.
And before you go, here’s a Starliner update: The long-awaited first crewed mission of Boeing’s new spacecraft has been postponed again.
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