Beautiful Feathered Tyrant

Ain't science grand? Paleontologists recently discovered a bus-sized T-rex-like dinosaur that is covered in feathers, making it the largest feathered animal, evar:

Fossils discovered in northeastern China of a giant, previously unrecognized dinosaur show that it is the largest known feathered animal, living or extinct, scientists report.

In an article in the journal Nature, published online Wednesday, Chinese and Canadian paleontologists said the discovery provided the first “direct evidence for the presence of extensively feathered gigantic dinosaurs” and offered “new insights into early feather evolution.”

When I grow up (read: get tenure), I think I'm going to start hanging out with paleontologists. I seriously think that had I read more Carl Zimmer books than Stephen Hawking when I was in college, I would have ended up with a B.S. in evolutionary biology. It is amazing that we can learn about the first few microseconds of the universe, the birth of the first stars, and the existence of planets all from the observation of light. So too is it awesome that we can piece together the story of life on earth using fossils and DNA. I seriously geek out on this stuff!

On my current reading list: Your Inner Fish.

Comments

Missy said…

As a geologist, I can tell you I think of everything in terms of evolutionary biology. Kind of a wacky way to live, but it makes sense to me.

This is a really cool find. Of course, someone somewhere will find a way to say the scientists made this stuff up.

April 5, 2012 at 5:17 PM

John Johnson said…

Yup, just like how physicists made up "electrons." Point particles with a unit charge? Nonsense!

April 5, 2012 at 9:11 PM

A view from your shut down

The Daily Dish has been posting reader emails reporting on their " view from the shutdown ." If you think this doesn't affect you, or if you know all too well how bad this is, take a look at the growing collection of poignant stories. No one is in this alone except for the nutjobs in the House. I decided to email Andrew with my own view. I plan to send a similar letter to my congressperson. Dear Andrew, I am a professor of astronomy at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). The CfA houses one of the largest, if not the largest collection of PhD astronomers in the United States, with over 300 professional astronomers and roughly 100 doctoral and predoctoral students on a small campus a few blocks west of Harvard Yard. Under the umbrella of the CfA are about 20 Harvard astronomy professors, and 50 tenure-track Smithsonian researchers. A large fraction of the latter are civil servants currently on furlough and unable to come to work. In total, 147 FTEs

The Long Con

Hiding in Plain Sight ESPN has a series of sports documentaries called 30 For 30. One of my favorites is called Broke which is about how professional athletes often make tens of millions of dollars in their careers yet retire with nothing. One of the major "leaks" turns out to be con artists, who lure athletes into elaborate real estate schemes or business ventures. This naturally raises the question: In a tightly-knit social structure that is a sports team, how can con artists operate so effectively and extensively? The answer is quite simple: very few people taken in by con artists ever tell anyone what happened. Thus, con artists can operate out in the open with little fear of consequences because they are shielded by the collective silence of their victims. I can empathize with this. I've lost money in two different con schemes. One was when I was in college, and I received a phone call that I had won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas. All I needed to d

back-talk begins

me: "owen, come here. it's time to get a new diaper" him, sprinting down the hall with no pants on: "forget about it!" he's quoting benny the rabbit, a short-lived sesame street character who happens to be in his favorite "count with me" video. i'm turning my head, trying not to let him see me laugh, because his use and tone with the phrase are so spot-on.

Mahalo.ne.Trash

Search This Blog