Sauropods were previously thought to have had their heyday in the Late Jurassic period. Recent fossil evidence says it was probably much earlier than that.
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A software program builds alternative DNA molecules
Scientists are using computer programs to understand our early beginnings. Click on the link to see how they are doing…
Medicine
Telling people they’re getting a placebo does not stop it from working
Does giving a placebo require lying to a patient? This study concludes...no! Placebos still work even when the patient knows, at least for emotional distress.
Horseshoe crabs are critical to the biotech industry
Did you know that the modern US biomedical industry is built around the baby blue blood of horseshoe crabs? Come find out what scientists are doing to help…
Diet and exercise can shape how your mind ages
Dementia is a condition that many of us are all too familiar with within friends and family. Dementia itself is a blanket term that describes several conditions…
Can a Chinese medicinal herb Psoralea fructus build healthy bones?
Osteoblasts are cells that are responsible for bone formation. A lack of osteoblasts will cause osteoporosis – a disease that occurs when the body has too…
The remains of a previously unknown species of human has been found in a cave in the Philippines!
Two new species of cave dwelling cockroaches have been discovered from a cave in Myanmar. They have been dated to be 99 million years old making them the oldest cave animals known to date.
The Mars 2020 mission involves sending a rover, named Perseverance, to Mars to look for evidence of past life on that planet. Perseverance will collect samples of 3 billion year old rocks that scientists on Earth think might contain signs of ancient life on Mars. Later, NASA will launch a mission to retrieve those…
The one of the largest land predators to have ever lived, the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, just crowned a new king. On March 21st, a team of University of Alberta scientists described the oldest and largest T. rex ever found. Scotty’s unearthed fossils reveals a fairly complete set of bones including a hips, limbs, and…
During the last days of the summer of 1991, tourists hiking in the Ötztal Alps near the Italy – Austria border found the remains of an incredibly well-preserved man. This man, dubbed Ötzi, was dated back to the “Copper Age”: an informal name given to the transitional period between stone and iron working,…
In 1870, parts of a fossilized bird were found in Kansas and then described by the American paleontologist Othniel Marsh. This new bird, dubbed Ichthyornis dispar, was one of the first fossil birds found in North America, and there was something special about it. It was recognized as a scientifically important specimen…
Modern bears, while typically thought of as carnivores, actually have a wide variety of dietary preferences. Some eat only meat while others are omnivores, meaning that they eat both meat and vegetation. Cave bears (Ursus spelaeus), an extinct bear species from Europe, are thought to be omnivorous. However, scientists…
The amount of trace elements in ocean pyrite correspond to ocean oxygen concentrations at different points in geologic time.
The first contact between the Aztecs of Mesoamerica and Spanish Conquistadors is well documented as bloody and disastrous for the Aztecs. However, it was the period of time just after first contact that was much deadlier for the native people, as diseases tore through these communities. These diseases were strong…