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Dinosaur means “terrible lizard”. The idea that prehistoric creatures were scaly, lethargic reptiles with sprawling postures that dragged their tails across tropical swamps is deeply embedded in the collective imagination.
However, science now has a more nuanced understanding of the diversity of dinosaur physiology. Many dinosaurs had brightly colored feathers, like birds. Dinosaurs lived in a variety of ecosystems, including the Arctic, where they would have encountered snow (if not for modern ice caps) and winters devoid of light.
A new study this week adds fresh details to one of paleontology’s biggest questions: Did dinosaurs have hot or cold blood?
David Bonadonna/University of Vigo/UCL
Fossils have shown that dinosaurs lived year-round in cold climates, such as the Arctic.
It is difficult to find evidence that shows beyond doubt what the dinosaurs’ metabolism was like. Clues from fossilized eggshells and bones suggest that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and others were not.
The answer matters 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 the fossil record of 1,000 dinosaur species and paleoclimate information has found that three major groups of dinosaurs adapted differently, with two of the groups developing the ability to regulate body temperature at the start of the Jurassic period, about 180 million years ago.
The study found that carnivorous theropods, including T. rex, and herbivorous ornithischians, such as Triceratops and Stegosaurus, spread into colder climates during the early Jurassic period, indicating that they may have evolved the ability to generate body heat internally .
Researchers have mapped a 40-mile stretch of the extinct Nile River using satellite radar images and sediment analysis.
The ancient Egyptians built some 31 pyramids, including the Great Pyramid of Giza, along the banks of a defunct branch of a river that the builders probably used to transport stone and other building materials.
The discovery, buried deep under farmland and not visible on aerial photographs, could help archaeologists locate other Egyptian temples and monuments hidden by the fields and desert sands that now cover the riverbed.
Google Research & Lichtman Lab/Harvard University
The 3D image above shows excitatory neurons colored according to their depth from the surface of the brain. Blue neurons are closest to the surface, and fuchsia indicates the innermost layer.
In another mapping advance, thanks to a collaboration between Harvard University and Google researchers, a 3D model of a cubic millimeter of brain tissue—the size of a grain of rice—is now available in stunning detail and beauty.
A team led by Dr. Jeff Lichtman, a professor of molecular and cellular biology at Harvard, cut the sample into thin slices one-thousandth the thickness of a human hair. Despite the tiny size of the fragment, it contained 57,000 cells, 230 millimeters of blood vessels and 150 million synapses.
Painted images make individual components more visible, but are otherwise a true representation of the fabric.
Ultimately, the team hopes that observing the brain in this way can help scientists understand unsolved diseases such as autism.
The patterns of rings in tree trunks – influenced by sunlight, precipitation and temperature – provide a climate history for each year of their life, going back hundreds or even thousands of years.
Tree-ring data from nine Northern Hemisphere regions, including North America and Scandinavia, allowed scientists to reconstruct annual Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures between 1 and 1849 and compare them with the previous summer’s temperatures.
According to the study, the summer of 2023 was warmer than any other summer during that 2,000-year period.
Temperatures then were at least 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the warmest summer of the period studied, 246, when the Roman Empire still held sway in Europe and the Mayan civilization dominated Central America.
Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild/Getty Images
Researchers have discovered that sperm whale communication is more complex than originally thought.
Marine scientists have used artificial intelligence to decipher the previously unknown complexity of sperm whale calls.
The whales produced a catalog of clicking sounds that the researchers described as akin to a “phonetic alphabet” for sperm whales.
Sperm whales make clicks by forcing air through an organ in their head called a spermacetum, and these sounds can reach 230 decibels – louder than a rocket launch and capable of rupturing a person’s eardrums.
What sperm whales say with their clicks remains a mystery to the human ear, but understanding the volume of their vocal exchange is an important step toward linking their calls to specific behaviors.
Relax with these great reads.
– Astronomers have noticed an unusual giant planet, fluffy like cotton candy, about 1200 light years from Earth.
— Scientists have solved the mystery of giant South American hummingbirds — with the help of tiny custom-made backpacks.
— Meet a herpetologist who is trying to save people in India from the danger of snakebites.
— Engravings found on a castle door in Dover, England, may include graffiti depicting the hanging of Napoleon Bonaparte, English Heritage reports.
And before we go, here’s a Starliner update: The much-anticipated first manned mission of Boeing’s new spacecraft has been delayed again.
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