The most famous Tyrannosaurus rex, “Sue,” for being the most complete skeleton of one, may have died of a parasitic infection in the jaw and throat that was so bad she may have starved to death.
Tyrannosaurus Rex, “Sue”
(Note Holes in the Jaw)
Credit:
a2gemma
A bit of burned skull with a bullet hole in it has long been used as evidence of Hitler’s suicide, but a recent DNA analysis of it found the skull belonged to a woman, but historians have plenty of other evidence that Hitler died in the bunker.
Women who make poor shoe choices early in life, such as high-heels and sandals, suffer more foot pain later in life.
Testosterone levels in gamers surge when playing against strangers as opposed to playing against friends, just as evolution intended.
“There is Grandeur in This View of Life,” an excerpt from Richard Dawkins’ new book The Greatest Show on Earth.
The Greatest Show on Earth
“Black vs White” is not the biggest conflict in American minds, as immigrants vs citizens and rich vs poor take the lead.
Limnonectes megastomias is a frog found in Thailand that has fangs and is known to eat birds (HT Rachelle).
A silver lining in the recession: Americans were healthier during the Great Depression than in stronger economic times, with hypotheses abounding as to why this is the case.
Cool Science Trick: Candle and Air Pressure:
Take a moment to vote for the best Google 10 to the 100 idea. With so many great ideas, it’s no wonder it took forever for them to narrow it down (or lump them together into general categories).
Google 10 to the 100
The echidna, a beaked animal with spines like a hedgehog, is descendent of the platypus.
Stem cells exposed to microgravity were missing 75 percent of the proteins found in cells grown in normal gravity, which may help to explain astronaut bone density and muscle-loss during missions.
Women find it easier to orgasm when they feel more positively about their genitals, which means that parents should help their daughters feel more positively about their bodies by teaching them the names of the parts of their sexual organs and letting them know it’s okay to touch them in private.
The katydid lures cicadas to their doom by mimicing the sounds of a female.
Lagrangian coherent structures are “moving skeletons embedded in complex flows” discovered by tracking individual particles in complex systems, and they help predict blood flow, air and water currents.
It helps keep us in shape, lower blood pressure, and improve our mental well-being. It’s not a miracle drug, it’s the habit of owning pets.
Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN) is the most advanced attempt yet to provide a modeling system for biological systems, which will allow biologists to map ecosystem interactions the way an electrical engineer maps circuits.
Rosalind Franklin, DNA Discoveries in Science and Art:
Anchiornis huxleyi is yet another dinosaur-bird transitional species; however, researchers have recently figured out that it is firmly in the dinosaur category, which dramatically pushes back the history of bird evolution.
Anchiornis huxleyi
Credit: Arthur Weasley
Dr. Alan Carlin has been held up as an example of the politicization of Global Warming as the EPA refused to forward up the chain, and was outright dismissive of his skepticism on Climate Change; however, the agency’s motivations were not politically motivated, but were due to the fact that Dr. Carlin’s degree is in economics and he’s never done any research on Global Warming.
Children between the age of two and four who receive regular spankings from their parents have IQs more than 5 points lower, meaning pediatricians need to get the word out to never spank your children under any circumstances.
A sanctuary dated between 3500 and 3200 BC discovered in the Persian Gulf was dedicated to the worship of the sea cow or dugong, an animal that bares similarity to the endangered American Manatee.
The American Museum of Natural History in New York has unveiled an 11-by-4-foot tapestry made entirely of spider silk, which required more than 80 “spider wranglers” to collect the spiders daily, silk them, and release them back to nature.
Spider Silk Tapestry
Credit: R. Mickens/AMNH
Some species of Australian dinosaurs survived harsh winters by burrowing underground, which also protected them from predators.
Iceland intends to export whale meat to Japan, but the country may be forced to give up the trade as a precondition to joining the EU (Let’s hope).
Ten years after a group in Russia first claimed to have made it, superheavy element 114 has been confirmed, leading to speculation that we may be closer to the speculative “Island of Stability” where elements heavier than this are stable.
Bill Nye on Astrology:
Vicky with Azaleas
The azalea is unique among species of rhododendron in that, rather than blooming in clusters or “stripers” as they are known, every terminal branch on the azalea bush produces a flower, resulting in the spectacular displays they bring each April.
Check out the complete flickr set here.
