Fossils
New clues about dino speed come from birds strutting through mud
Fossilized footprints can help calculate how fast dinosaurs moved. But tests with guinea fowl show that past estimates might not be right.
MS-LS4-2
Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.
More Stories in MS-LS4-2
- Animals
Scientists Say: Megalodon
The extinct megalodon (Otodus megalodon) was the largest shark to ever prowl the oceans.
- Tech
Artificial intelligence helped design a new type of battery
Supercomputing and AI cut the early discovery steps from decades to just 80 hours. The process led to a new solid electrolyte.
- Life
Bacterial fossils exhibit earliest hints of photosynthesis
Microscopic fossils from Australia suggest that some bacteria evolved structures for oxygen-producing photosynthesis by 1.78 billion years ago.
- Animals
A newfound type of hedgehog is small, dark and adorable
At first, this hedgehog was mistaken for a lookalike relative. But its teeth, skull shape and DNA confirmed it as a new species.
- Animals
Horned lizards and snakes tend to ambush their prey
The reptiles’ horns could help or hinder during foraging, depending on how they hunt. This might be why horns evolved in some species and not others.
- Fossils
T. rex may have hidden its teeth behind lips
Dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus have long been portrayed with their big teeth bared. But new research suggests this wasn’t so.
- Fossils
Ancient jellyfish? Upside down this one looks like something else
A new look at an ancient sea animal called Essexella suggests it may have been a type of burrowing sea anemone, not a floating jelly.
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These lemurs take nose-picking to a new level
A nose-picking aye-aye’s spindly middle digit probably pokes all the way into the back of the throat, CT scans show.
- Animals
A love of small mammals drives this scientist
Alexis Mychajliw’s science is driven by her love of animals. She now looks to tar pits and fossilized poop to understand ancient ecosystems.
