Dinosaurs grew as fast as your average living mammal, according to a research paper published by Stony Brook University paleontologist Michael D’Emic, PhD. The paper, to published in Science on May 29, is a re-analysis of a widely publicized 2014 Science paper on dinosaur metabolism and growth that concluded dinosaurs were neither ectothermic nor endothermic […]
Archive for May, 2015
Laser-beam scanning illuminates new details in dinosaur fossils
May 28th, 2015 
Riffin A team of scientists based largely at the University of Kansas and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Washington has developed methods of using commercial-grade laser equipment to find and analyze fossils of dinosaurs. Their techniques are introduced via a paper in the journal PLOS ONE today. The new laser method causes […]
What did the first snakes look like?
May 26th, 2015 Riffin The original snake ancestor was a nocturnal, stealth-hunting predator that had tiny hindlimbs with ankles and toes, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology. The study, led by Yale University, USA, analyzed fossils, genes, and anatomy from 73 snake and lizard species, and suggests that snakes first evolved on land, […]
Probing iron chemistry in the deep mantle
May 24th, 2015 Riffin Carbonates are a group of minerals that contain the carbonate ion (CO32-) and a metal, such as iron or magnesium. Carbonates are important constituents of marine sediments and are heavily involved in the planet’s deep carbon cycle, primarily due to oceanic crust sinking into the mantle, a process called subduction. During subduction, carbonates interact with […]
Digital dinosaurs: Restore dinosaur fossil
May 20th, 2015 Riffin Fossils are usually deformed or incompletely preserved when they are found, after sometimes millions of years of fossilization processes. Consequently, fossils have to be studied very carefully to avoid damage, and are sometimes they are difficult to access, as they might be located in remote museum collections. An international team of scientists, led by Dr. […]
New evidence for combat and cannibalism in tyrannosaurs
May 18th, 2015 Riffin A new study documents injuries inflicted in life and death to a large tyrannosaurine dinosaur. The paper shows that the skull of a genus of tyrannosaur called Daspletosaurus suffered numerous injuries during life, at least some of which were likely inflicted by another Daspletosaurus. It was also bitten after death in an apparent event of […]
Swift Drift Of Indian Plate Explained
May 16th, 2015 Riffin In the history of continental drift, India has been a mysterious record-holder. More than 140 million years ago, India was part of an immense supercontinent called Gondwana, which covered much of the Southern Hemisphere. Around 120 million years ago, what is now India broke off and started slowly migrating north, at about 5 centimeters per […]
Chicken Embryos With Dino Snouts ?
May 15th, 2015 Riffin Chicks with dino-snouts? With a little molecular tinkering, for the first time scientists have created chicken embryos with broad, Velociraptor-like muzzles in the place of their beaks. The bizarrely developing chickens shed new light on how the bird beak evolved, scientists added. The Age of Dinosaurs came to an end with a bang about 65 […]
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Tags: Chicken Embryos, Dino Snouts ?, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, WFS, world fossil society 
No Comments »Can skull shape and function determine what kind of food was on prehistoric plates?
May 12th, 2015 Riffin When paleontologists put together a life history for a long-extinct animal, it’s common to infer the foods it ate by looking at modern animals with similar skull shapes and tooth patterns. But this practice is far from foolproof. New modeling and tests based on living species done at the American Museum of Natural History show […]
Posted in Featured Post Tags: Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, Skull shape, WFS, world fossil society No Comments »Explosive volcanoes fueled by water
May 9th, 2015 Riffin University of Oregon geologists have tapped water in surface rocks to show how magma forms deep underground and produces explosive volcanoes in the Cascade Range. “Water is a key player,” says Paul J. Wallace, a professor in the UO’s Department of Geological Sciences and coauthor of a paper in the May issue of Nature Geoscience. […]
Posted in Featured Post Tags: Explosive volcanoes, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, WFS, world fossil society No Comments »
