dinosaurs

Baby Dinosaur's 99 Million-Year-Old Tail, Encased In Amber, Surfaces In Myanmar

9:38pm December 08, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Millions of years ago, a dinosaur about the size of a sparrow had a bad day. It got stuck in tree resin. Paleontologists recently came across the rare amber fossil containing its tail in Myanmar.

Mounted specimen of Hupehsuchus nanchangensis on display at the Paleozoological Museum of China

Science

Preserved Paleo Protein Provides Perspective on Dino Family Tree, and Maybe Life in Space. Wait. What?

7:00am November 25, 2016

by Shawn Fitzmaurice

You are a paleontologist on expedition hunting dinosaur fossils. For all your efforts, you've unearthed just a few bone fragments. Back at the lab, you and your team determine that, based on their shape and size, you're looking at a colossal waste of time and resources. But a new tool is emerging which allows us to use dinosaur DNA to better understand prehistoric evolutionary trees. It may also help to find life on Mars, or treat human diseases.

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A computer illustration of a large asteroid colliding with Earth. (Size may not be to scale.) Such an impact is believed to have led to the death of the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago.

Scientists Say Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Made Earth's Surface Act Like Liquid

7:13pm November 22, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The asteroid smashed into Earth. And from miles under the Earth's surface, rock hurtled upward to a height twice that of Mount Everest and then collapsed outward to form a ring of mountains.

A football field makes an enormous (and illuminating) timeline.

Watch Earth's History Play Out On A Football Field

4:39pm November 22, 2016

by Adam Cole

If our planet's 4.5 billion-year existence were laid out on a 100-yard timeline, when and where would humans first show up? Good question. NPR's Skunk Bear hits the gridiron for a reality check.

This rock was found on a British beach. Some scientists believe it could contain fossilized brain tissue.

Science

Researchers Say They've Found A Bit Of Fossilized Dinosaur Brain

6:19pm October 27, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A small rock might contain tissue from a 130 million-year-old dinosaur brain. If confirmed, it would be the first bit of fossilized dino gray matter ever found.

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The newly discovered dinosaur species Savannasaurus elliottorum was about half the length of a basketball court and lived some 95 million years ago.

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Dinosaurs Down Under May Help Explain Prehistoric Migrations

4:42pm October 20, 2016

by Geoff Brumfiel

The remains of two titanosaur species discovered in Australia provide clues about how ancient plant-eaters proliferated.

Geophysicists announced this week that they have successfully collected key samples from the site of the asteroid strike that likely wiped out the dinosaurs.

Geologists Find Clues In Crater Left By Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid

7:05pm May 06, 2016

by Geoff Brumfiel

Scientists drilling beneath the Gulf of Mexico have hit the layer deposited when an asteroid the size of Staten Island, N.Y., hit Earth. Samples might contain details from that fateful day.

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Sauropods were one of the most successful groups of dinosaurs to ever walk the Earth. New research helps explain why.

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Superhearing And Fast Growth ... Scientists Learn Why Sauropods Ruled

8:05pm April 26, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

A nearly complete fossilized skull from Argentina helps explains the success of these giant dinosaurs that roamed some 95 million years ago.

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An artist's rendering of sauropods that once roamed in a lagoon area on Scotland's Isle of Skye.

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Before There Were Tourists, Dinosaurs Strolled Scotland's Isle Of Skye

3:54pm December 01, 2015

by Joe Palca

On a recent fossil-hunting trip to the island, researchers stumbled across a cache of dinosaur footprints in what was once a lagoon.

A team of blacksmiths, welders, artists and scientists have been working together in Canada to mount the T. rex bones without damaging them. Metal cradles hold 150 of the major bones precisely in place.

'Nation's T. Rex' Strikes A Rapacious Pose

2:08pm October 06, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

Drills and screws would damage the frail, 65.5 million-year-old bones of the Smithsonian's 38-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex. So how do you make it stand? Blacksmiths in Canada are working their magic.

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