Science News 25/8/09

Getting out of the cold
A new study from the University of Newcastle has revealed that ice ages may have ended because warmer summers in the northern and southern hemispheres. We’ve thought for a while that wobbles in the Earth's orbit push the ice-age cycle but we were in the cold trying to explain why. When the Earth tilts in higher angles it increases the amount of solar energy reaching the hemisphere's poles,which is where the glacial ice sheets are positioned. This makes summers warmer in both hemispheres and causes the ice sheets to collapse. While the theory was around for a while it was never proven.The recent research looked at the ancient chemicals changes in tiny amounts of uranium found in stalagmites in an Italian cave to create a timescale of when the ice sheets collapsed, ending the second last ice age. The study was published in the prestigious scientific journal Science.

The pterodactyl has landed
Research from the University of California published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, describes in unprecedented detail how the pterodactyl landed. From fossilised footprints found at the Late Jurassic site in France palaeontologists can see that the pterodactyl first touched the ground with both clawed hind feet. The claws were then dragged along the ground as the animal landed, and the pterodactyl became slightly airborne before touching the ground again with its hind feet. The bird then put its winged forelimbs on the ground, took a short step with its back legs, changed its forelimbs and began to walk normally. Pretty amazing that we know all this detail when you remember that the animal took to the Late Jurassic skies - 161 to 145 million years ago.

T-rex gets his lips done
A new study of the remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex that roamed Earth 68 million years ago has confirmed that proteins from blood and bone, tendons, or cartilage were in fact the T. Rex’s. The findings will be published in the Sept. issue of the Journal of Proteome Research. A first analysis of the fossil T.rex said that they proteins, but other studies came along and poo-pooed the results. The new study confirms the results and reports the finding of T- rex collagen.

Dinosaurs go laser
Researchers from the University of Manchester have reconstructed the bodies of five dinosaurs, including two T. rex and analysed them using laser technology. One of the dinosaurs they constructed, the Acrocanthosaurus atokensis was a large predatory dinosaur that looked like T. rex but it had large spines on its back and roamed the earth earlier than its famous cousin. The team used laser scanning technology to devise 3D models of the prehistoric creatures. Their program allows the scientists to calculate how fat dinosaurs were, and more specifically the weight of their specific body segments. This will be used to analyze body movements of the dinosaurs and even track the evolution of their different walking styles.