Search Results for: Vertebrates
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Paleontology
Ancient atmosphere was productive
New laboratory experiments suggest that extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the era just before the dinosaurs went extinct may have boosted plant productivity to at least three times that found in today’s ecosystems.
By Sid Perkins -
Paleontology
Role of gastroliths in digestion questioned
New analyses of the gastroliths in ostriches are casting doubt on the theory that large, plant-eating dinosaurs swallowed stones to grind up tough vegetation and thereby aid their digestion.
By Sid Perkins -
Anthropology
Out on a Limb
The science of body development may make kindling out of evolutionary trees.
By Bruce Bower -
Animals
Musical Pairs: Egg-deploying bird species divide for a song
A new genetic analysis bolsters the idea that musical taste, rather than geography, split Africa's indigobirds into multiple species.
By Susan Milius -
Paleontology
Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along: Dinosaur buoyancy may explain odd tracks
New lab experiments and computer analyses may explain how some of the heftiest four-legged dinosaurs ever to walk on Earth could have left trackways that include the imprints of only their front feet.
By Sid Perkins -
Animals
First Impressions: Early view biases spider’s mate choice
In a new wrinkle on how females develop their tastes in males, a test has found that young female wolf spiders that see a male's courtship display grow up with a preference for that look in mates.
By Susan Milius -
Materials Science
Easy Repair: Novel structural model heals with heat
The vertebrate spine has provided inspiration for making new structures that heal when heated.
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19302
I beg to differ with the quote, attributed to Ethan Temeles in this article: “This is the first really unambiguous example of ecology playing a role in the morphological differences between the sexes.” The statement exhibits the annoyingly common practice among zoologists to think and generalize as if only animals (and, even worse, only vertebrates) […]
By Science News -
Animals
Toothy valves control crocodile hearts
The odd cog teeth of the crocodile heart may be the first cardiac valve known to control blood flow actively.
By Susan Milius -
Paleontology
L.A.’s Oldest Tourist Trap
Modern excavations at the La Brea tar pits are revealing a wealth of information about local food chains during recent ice ages, as well as details about what happened to trapped animals in their final hours.
By Sid Perkins -
What’s Worth Saving?
A fracas over a biological term could have huge consequences for conservation.
By Susan Milius -
Humans
Science News of the Year 2000
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2000.
By Science News