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POPSSome Odd Facts from the Animal World Which animal grows the maximum from birth to adulthood? Though a male kangaroo can be about 7 ft. tall and weigh 90 kg, at birth they are about 2 cm tall and weigh a few grams only! After birth, the baby has to climb about 6 inches along the furs of its mother’s abdomen to reach the edge of the pouch and enter into it. It is equivalent to a human baby climbing about 10 ft.! The infant kangaroo is suckled inside its mother’s pouch, where it completes its development to emerge when it weighs more than a kg.
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POPSDinosaur find linked to giant plant eaters The Aardonyx celestae species dates back to the early Jurassic period. Dr. Yates said the creature found in South Africa stood nearly 6 feet high at the hip and weighed about 1,100 pounds. It was about 10 years old when it died, and its death may have been caused by drought. The species shares many characteristics with the plant-eating herbivores that walked on two legs, Dr. Yates said. But the new species also has similar attributes to dinosaurs that grew to massive sizes and went about on all fours with long necks and whip-like tails. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09316/1012833-115.stm#ixzz0Wf3ge1Qc Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09316/1012833-115.stm#ixzz0Wf3ge1Qc
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POPSBye Bye Birdie: Famed Fossil Loses Avian Perch just one of several species of feathered dinosaurs preceding modern birds. It may not even be a direct ancestor. Such revisions make paleontology a science of second thoughts. Reconstructing the history of life, researchers thrash out theories of ancestry, behavior and biomechanics guided by hints from ancient bones. Archaeopteryx -- combining the feathers, wishbone and wings of a bird with the reptilian tail, teeth and claws of a dinosaur -- had already become a question mark. Newly discovered fossils have prompted scientists to revamp their assumptions about archaeopteryx's distinguishing features over the last decade. A cornucopia of fossil finds in China demonstrated that feathers coated many dinosaur species, not just birds. The newest finding, though, demonstrates that our understanding of even well-studied fossils like archaeopteryx -- scrutinized, measured, modeled for 150 years -- can still be upended.
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POPSSmall Wonders: Finalists From the Nikon Small World Competition Small World is regarded as the leading forum for showcasing the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope. For over 30 years, Nikon has rewarded the world's best photomicrographers who make critically important scientific contributions to life sciences, bio-research and materials science.
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POPSVelociraptor Claws Made for Climbing more: The new study found that the claws had a high "failure stress" threshold, "suggesting that Velociraptor would have been able to support its weight on a small contact area while climbing," the researchers write. And it could have perched, much like a modern bird in a tree, they figure. That doesn't mean Velociraptor wasn't fearsome. The claws of these extinct creatures could have served to capture prey, too. "The geometry of dromaeosaur claws would have caused the claw to rotate as it was pushed deeper into prey," the scientists write. A rachet-like ligament would have helped get the claw in deep, they speculate, allowing the dinosaur to use its body weight "to lock the claws passively and allowing the jaws to dispatch the prey."
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POPSScientists are to turn chickens into dinosaurs. Now, a quote from the classic Jurassic Park movie: Dr. Ian Malcolm: God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs... Dr. Ellie Sattler: Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth... Is this really a good idea?
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POPSYabba Dabba...I Do! A Flintstones-themed wedding. Picture taken just before the dinosaur in the back devoured them all.