Episode #612

Episode #612

News Items

• Redrawing Dinosaur Clade
• Bird Evolution
• Elon Musk on AI
• Smelling Breast Cancer

Who's That Noisy

• Answer to last week: stick-slip

Science or Fiction [ Show Answers ]

• Item #1 Science

  Two dinosaurs, a velociraptor and a protoceratops, were preserved in a literal action pose, in the act of combat as they clawed and bit each other. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/fighting-dinos/the-fighting-dinosaurs/

• Item #2 Science

  Most dinosaurs did not chew their food, but hadrosaurs did, with their (approximately) 1000 teeth. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/glossary/Hadrosaur.shtml

• Item #3 Fiction

  Sauropods, the largest dinosaurs, had an enlargement at the base of their spinal cords that acted as a relay center or second brain. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-double-dinosaur-brain-myth-12155823/

Skeptical Quote of the Week

“Truth is born into this world only with pangs and tribulations, and every fresh truth is received unwillingly. To expect the world to receive a new truth, or even an old truth, without challenging it, is to look for one of those miracles which do not occur.” - Alfred Russel Wallace