Oviraptorosaurs are a group of birdlike dinosaurs that were part of the ancestral dinosaur lineage that later gave rise to birds. Oviraptorosaurs walked on two legs, had a powerful toothless beak and were covered in feathers. One of the first known species, Oviraptor philoceratops, was discovered in the 1920s when a skeleton was uncovered alongside […]
Imagine you are enjoying a peaceful summer evening at the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Not far from you, some kids are piling up sand with a shovel. They do not care about the shape the pile is taking, so one would expect just an amorphous pile of sand. To your astonishment, that is not […]
Ryugu sample reveals asteroid’s inner secrets Samples returned from the Ryugu asteroid by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft are yielding information about materials found just beneath the object’s surface. “The variations in physical properties among the pebbles and sand, which were not expected before spacecraft arrival at the asteroid, reflect the geological history of Ryugu,” scientists wrote […]
Twistology could be the study of unexpected changes or developments in stories or situations, from coups d’état to the fatherhood of Darth Vader. In condensed matter physics there is something similar, although the preferred name is twistronics (from twist and electronics). It is understood as the study of how the angle (the twist) between layers […]
Two years of battling COVID-19 has been bad news for tuberculosis (TB) programmes. Respiratory clinicians and researchers have had their time and focus directed elsewhere. And TB has taken advantage. In 2021, the number of TB deaths rose for the first time in over a decade. The barriers caused by lockdowns and overstretched healthcare systems […]
C ardiovascular diseases currently form the most important class of non-contagious diseases and a leading cause of mortality in industrialized nations . Specifically, coronary heart disease is the first cause of death among the cardiovascular diseases . The myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a “heart attack”, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in […]
Chromosome study hints at early evolution of animals Chromosome changes that took place about 800 million years ago have been examined and used to find genes that may have been present in the earliest moments of animal life. Researchers viewed genomes at the chromosome level to study what they call genome tectonics to find nearly […]
Inorganic and organic light-emitting diodes (ILEDs and OLEDs, respectively) are quickly replacing incandescent light bulbs and compact fluorescent lamps. The reasons for the success are easy to understand. For instance, ILEDs’ performance has met the market requirements for in-/out-door applications with single-point sources. However, ILEDs cannot be considered a sustainable solution as of today. One […]
In most animal species, males and females differ. This is true for people and other mammals, as well as many species of birds, fish and reptiles. But what about dinosaurs? In 2015, I proposed that variation found in the iconic back plates of stegosaur dinosaurs was due to sex differences. I was surprised by how […]
How an organism can sense and cope with warming temperatures is key for survival, particularly under current global warming trends. The importance of this subject was recognized by 2021’s Nobel prize in Physiology & Medicine awarded to work on TRP channels, key mammalian peripheral heat sensors. Endotherms -such as mammals and birds – maintain their […]