Newly Described Bird-like Dinosaur Predates Archaeopteryx by 15-20 Million Years [Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)]
tags: evolutionary biology, convergent evolution, paleontology, taxonomy, zoology, basal birds, theropods, dinosaurs, ornithology, birds, Alvarezsauroidea, Haplocheirus sollers, Maniraptora, Archaeopteryx, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
A Newly Discovered Basal Alvarezsauroid Theropod from the Early Late Jurassic.
Artwork: Portia Sloan [larger view]
DOI: 10.1126/science.1182143
A long-standing scientific debate focuses on the origins of birds: did they evolve from reptiles or dinosaurs? Currently, most scientists think that birds are modern dinosaurs, but because small hollow bones like those of birds and small dinosaurs don't fossilize well, the early fossil record for birds is sparse. However, a new dinosaur species unearthed in China's Gobi Desert strengthens the dinosaur-bird hypothesis and may also provide valuable clues as to how flight evolved.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
Newly Described Bird-like Dinosaur Predates Archaeopteryx by 15-20 Million Years [Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)]
tags: evolutionary biology, convergent evolution, paleontology, taxonomy, zoology, basal birds, theropods, dinosaurs, ornithology, birds, Alvarezsauroidea, Haplocheirus sollers, Maniraptora, Archaeopteryx, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
A Newly Discovered Basal Alvarezsauroid Theropod from the Early Late Jurassic.
Artwork: Portia Sloan [larger view]
DOI: 10.1126/science.1182143
A long-standing scientific debate focuses on the origins of birds: did they evolve from reptiles or dinosaurs? Currently, most scientists think that birds are modern dinosaurs, but because small hollow bones like those of birds and small dinosaurs don't fossilize well, the early fossil record for birds is sparse. However, a new dinosaur species unearthed in China's Gobi Desert strengthens the dinosaur-bird hypothesis and may also provide valuable clues as to how flight evolved.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
Newly Described Bird-like Dinosaur Predates Archaeopteryx by 15-20 Million Years [Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)]
tags: evolutionary biology, convergent evolution, paleontology, taxonomy, zoology, basal birds, theropods, dinosaurs, ornithology, birds, Alvarezsauroidea, Haplocheirus sollers, Maniraptora, Archaeopteryx, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
A Newly Discovered Basal Alvarezsauroid Theropod from the Early Late Jurassic.
Artwork: Portia Sloan [larger view]
DOI: 10.1126/science.1182143
A long-standing scientific debate focuses on the origins of birds: did they evolve from reptiles or dinosaurs? Currently, most scientists think that birds are modern dinosaurs, but because small hollow bones like those of birds and small dinosaurs don't fossilize well, the early fossil record for birds is sparse. However, a new dinosaur species unearthed in China's Gobi Desert strengthens the dinosaur-bird hypothesis and may also provide valuable clues as to how flight evolved.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
Solving the San Francisco plankton mystery [Not Exactly Rocket Science]
This article is reposted from the old Wordpress incarnation of Not Exactly Rocket Science.
Look into the oceans past the sharks, seals and fish and you will find the tiny phytoplankton. These small organisms form the basis of life in the seas but if their populations get to big, they can also choke the life from it by forming large and suffocating algal blooms.
The waters of San Francisco Bay have never had big problems with these blooms and if anything, scientists worried that the waters didn't have enough phytoplankton. All that changed in 1999, when the phytoplankton population started growing. It has doubled in size since.
Now, scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have found that the blooms are the result of a long chain of ecological changes in the area. The plankton are just players in a large ensemble drama involves clams, mussels, fish, crabs and a cold snap.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
Solving the San Francisco plankton mystery [Not Exactly Rocket Science]
This article is reposted from the old Wordpress incarnation of Not Exactly Rocket Science.
Look into the oceans past the sharks, seals and fish and you will find the tiny phytoplankton. These small organisms form the basis of life in the seas but if their populations get to big, they can also choke the life from it by forming large and suffocating algal blooms.
The waters of San Francisco Bay have never had big problems with these blooms and if anything, scientists worried that the waters didn't have enough phytoplankton. All that changed in 1999, when the phytoplankton population started growing. It has doubled in size since.
Now, scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have found that the blooms are the result of a long chain of ecological changes in the area. The plankton are just players in a large ensemble drama involves clams, mussels, fish, crabs and a cold snap.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
Solving the San Francisco plankton mystery [Not Exactly Rocket Science]
This article is reposted from the old Wordpress incarnation of Not Exactly Rocket Science.
Look into the oceans past the sharks, seals and fish and you will find the tiny phytoplankton. These small organisms form the basis of life in the seas but if their populations get to big, they can also choke the life from it by forming large and suffocating algal blooms.
The waters of San Francisco Bay have never had big problems with these blooms and if anything, scientists worried that the waters didn't have enough phytoplankton. All that changed in 1999, when the phytoplankton population started growing. It has doubled in size since.
Now, scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have found that the blooms are the result of a long chain of ecological changes in the area. The plankton are just players in a large ensemble drama involves clams, mussels, fish, crabs and a cold snap.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
The True Meaning of the Super Bowl (Bonus commentary by Adolf Hitler) [Greg Laden's Blog]
I did not appreciate the sentiment that the New York Yankees had to win the World Series because Osama Bin Laden blew up the World Trade Center. I do not appreciate the sentiment that the New Orleans Saints have to win the Super Bowl because George Bush let poor New Orleans residents die in the Super Dome. I do appreciate the equivalence ... between an uncaring homicidal mass murdering maniac and some guy from the Arabian Peninsula who seems to have been the mastermind of dozens of failed terrorist attacks and a couple of ugly ones. But that is another story.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
The True Meaning of the Super Bowl (Bonus commentary by Adolf Hitler) [Greg Laden's Blog]
I did not appreciate the sentiment that the New York Yankees had to win the World Series because Osama Bin Laden blew up the World Trade Center. I do not appreciate the sentiment that the New Orleans Saints have to win the Super Bowl because George Bush let poor New Orleans residents die in the Super Dome. I do appreciate the equivalence ... between an uncaring homicidal mass murdering maniac and some guy from the Arabian Peninsula who seems to have been the mastermind of dozens of failed terrorist attacks and a couple of ugly ones. But that is another story.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
The True Meaning of the Super Bowl (Bonus commentary by Adolf Hitler) [Greg Laden's Blog]
I did not appreciate the sentiment that the New York Yankees had to win the World Series because Osama Bin Laden blew up the World Trade Center. I do not appreciate the sentiment that the New Orleans Saints have to win the Super Bowl because George Bush let poor New Orleans residents die in the Super Dome. I do appreciate the equivalence ... between an uncaring homicidal mass murdering maniac and some guy from the Arabian Peninsula who seems to have been the mastermind of dozens of failed terrorist attacks and a couple of ugly ones. But that is another story.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
How To Report the News [The Primate Diaries]
Many of us self-styled journalists and bloggers lack formal training in what news reporting is really all about. Fortunately Charlie Brooker at BBC4 has this helpful report that can make even the novice journalist a professional reporter in no time. While this is primarily intended for TV journalists, I think there are some effective strategies that can still be gleaned from knowing just what professionalism is really all about.
H/T David Wescott