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Paleontologists Uncover Oldest and Smallest Dinosaurs In North America

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A group of US researchers discovered the oldest horned dinosaur from North America.  They found dinosaur equal to the size of a house cat which is nearly 15 million years old.

In 1997, a Scott Madsen uncovered the jaw and skull of Aquilops Americuns. After several years researchers identified it as a milestone work of art. However, the new species is known as Aquilops americanus which means Eagle Face. It lived around 107 million years ago on the earth.

Andrew Farke, a paleontologists informed at first Scott thought it was generic. Later on, it becomes apparent that it is an early horned dinosaur. The new discovery will certainly give an insight about the life style of early dinosaurs. These dinosaurs lived in North America nearly 108 million years ago.

This new specie is pretty similar to the animals of Asia such as Archaeoceratops oshimai and leptoceratops gracilis.  Researchers were surprised with the size of the Aquilops. It is approximately weigh around 3.5 pounds and was around two feet in length.  The plant eater animal is so small that anyone can hold it with one arm.  The remnants of skull would fit quite effortlessly in one hand.

The little dinosaur does not possess horn like Triceratops. It has numerous other features which were not present in the horned dinosaurs such as toothless beak. This kind beak is also present on turtles and Triceratops. Commonly, it is known as rostral bone.

The report is published in 10 December’s edition of Journal PlOS One.

Google Places the Largest Time Square Interactive BillBoard

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Google is all gear up to display a huge marketing message on the Time Square in New York.

The Mitsubishi Electric Large scale display would power the bill board. The bill board would come with a pixel density of 2,368 x 10,048. This high pixel density beats the 4K display resolution with its 15 million pixels.

The biggest tech giant plans to cover the entire block with its 25,000 square feet bill board. . It will carry a marketing message of Google Chrome, Android and Nexus devices. The company intends to introduce the bill board on Monday.

Additionally, the company has also declared that it will donate screen time to a few non-profit organizations such as WWF (World Wide Fund) and Charity Water.

A clear Channel spokesman informed that it is the largest digital billboard of North America. However, this particular bill board is pretty costly as compared to the ordinary ones. Generally the average billboards of Time Square are offered at a high cost of $4 million per year.

On the other hand, this kind of massive bill board is justified for a tech giant like Google. The firm has numerous brand new products in line which require strong marketing. Recently, Google introduced its new series of Nexus products such as Nexus 6 phablet, Nexus Player and Nexus 9 tablet. Nexus player is the first step of the company towards the living room of its customers. Therefore, the company never wish it to be a failure like Nexus Q.

Nasa Declared 1934 the Worst Day of Dust Bowl in Last 1000 Years

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As per the reports of NASA, the 1934s dust bowl drought was the worst ever to hit North America in the past millennium. The researchers stated that the 1930s America was inundated by several droughts that destroyed farms and killed sheathes of livestock. The entire millennium was marked by extreme temperatures, erosion and dust storms, exacerbating the economic meltdown of the Great Depression.

In the recent study named, ‘The worst North American drought year of the last millennium’, the NASA’s researchers together with Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory renovated the history of droughts in the United States with the help of contemporary practices and tree-ring records from the years 1000 to 2005.

The team found that the 1934’s dust bowl drought covered more than 71% of western North America and was 30% severer than the next worst, which struck in 1580.

Ben Cook, study lead author and a climate scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York stated, “It was the worst by a large margin, falling pretty far outside the normal range of variability that we see in the record.” He further stated that, a high-pressure system during the west coast’s winter that kept raining at bay, combined with poor land management practices, led to dust storms in the spring.

As per the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “Climate change will continue to strengthen the possibilities of strong droughts in North America.”

The scientists are searching for hints from the past events and also concerned that fossil fuels continue to burn at an exceptional rate along with fracking. These will fan the flames of climate change and can lead to mega-droughts lasting up to 30 years.

As compared to the 1934’s Dust Bowl impact, the newest dry spell in California is said to be comparatively mild. Though, the drought is likely to continue till 2015, researchers added.

Three Waves of Drought: 1934 Dust Bowl Considered Worst in Last 10 Centuries

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Ben Cook, a climate scientist from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies has confirmed that, the 1934s dust bowl drought was the worst ever to hit North America for the past 1,000 year.

Recently, the NASA’s researchers together with Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory renovated the history of droughts in the United States with the help of contemporary practices and tree-ring records from the years 1000 to 2005.

The dust bowl drought was caused by an inert, high pressure system that floated above the North American west coast for an entire winter, pushing wet weather away from the interior of the continent. Similar conditions led to droughts in both 2013 and in 2014 as well, though the dust storms that gave the region, its name in the 1930s also worked to discourage rainfall, the study claimed.

The scientists found that the 1934 drought covered more than 71% of western North America and was 30% severer than the next worst, which struck in 1580.

Ben Cook, study lead author and a climate scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York stated, “It was the worst by a large margin, falling pretty far outside the normal range of variability that we see in the record.” He further stated that, a high-pressure system during the west coast’s winter that kept raining at bay, combined with poor land management practices, led to dust storms in the spring.

As per the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “Climate change will continue to strengthen the possibilities of strong droughts in North America.”

Currently, the scientists are searching for hints from the past events and also concerned that fossil fuels continue to burn at an exceptional rate along with fracking. These will fan the flames of climate change and can lead to mega-droughts lasting up to 30 years.

The study is due to be published in the Oct. 17 edition of Geophysical Research Letters.

NASA Report: Dust Bowl of 1934 Declared Record Breaking in North America for Last 1000 years

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According to a recent study, the 1934s drought that helped outset the Dust Bowl era was the pits to hit North America for the past 1,000 year.

Recently, the NASA’s researchers together with Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory renovated the history of droughts in the United States with the help of contemporary practices and tree-ring records from the years 1000 to 2005.

The scientists found that the 1934 drought covered more than 70% of western North America and was 30% severer than the next worst, which struck in 1580.

Ben Cook, study lead author and a climate scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York stated, “It was the worst by a large margin, falling pretty far outside the normal range of variability that we see in the record.”

He further stated that, a high-pressure system during the west coast’s winter that kept raining at bay, combined with poor land management practices, led to dust storms in the spring.

The study is due to be published in the 17th Oct edition of Geophysical Research Letters.

Monarch Butterflies Migrated Long Distances Like Marathoners

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Monarch butterflies can be found throughout the world, although only in North America they make a magnificent mass migration. The researcher have sequenced 90 butterfly genomes, and discovered that there is only one gene which is responsible for the capability of butterflies to migrate long distances like marathoners. The study findings propose that the monarch butterflies are evolved with more efficient muscles that help them to fly so far.

A recent genetic analysis published this week in the Nature journal stating that the intimates of the contemporary monarchs initially dispersed out North America, instead of central or South America, as formerly believed.

However, Marcus Kronforst, University of Chicago’s biologist confesses that he along with his fellow colleagues firstly discovered evolutionary proofs hard to accept. He stated in his interview with BBC News, “It really took lots of convincing,” though, the findings portray how genetics could elaborate the origins of a species’ traits on a level far more fundamental than, say, Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So Stories,” said the University of Exeter’s Richard H. ffrench-Constant.

H. ffrench-Constant (not involved in the project), stated in a Nature journal; “Butterflies are leading a revival in our understanding of the molecular basis of natural selection.”

Different patterns of alteration in genomes are analyzed by researchers to conclude that North American butterflies are nearby to their ancestral roots of evolutionary tree.

The researchers assumed that, the travelling Monarchs originated in Central or South America, and established themselves in North America. But the latest proof indicates that, the species got its start in Southern United States or Mexico, perhaps 1 million to 2 million years ago, said by Kronforst.

The butterflies most likely to followed a short range traveling pattern. The researchers says that, North American population began to expand about 20,000 years ago, at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, when butterflies could more readily spread on milkweed crowd plants in the American Midwest.

One Gene Gives Monarch Butterflies the Power to Migrate: Researchers Revealed!

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butterfly

The researcher have sequenced 101 butterfly genes, and discovered that there is only one gene which is responsible for the butterflies to immigrate long distances. The study findings propose that the monarch butterflies are actually evolved with more efficient muscles that help them to fly so far.

A recent genetic analysis published this week in the Nature journal, having some unanticipated twists. First thing, it seems as the intimates of the contemporary monarchs initially dispersed out North America, instead of central or South America, as formerly believed. Secondly, only one gene seems to play a vital role in giving monarchs their prominent coloration.

However, Marcus Kronforst, University of Chicago’s biologist confesses that he along with his fellow colleagues firstly discovered evolutionary proofs hard to accept. He stated in his interview with BBC News, “It really took lots of convincing,” though, the findings portray how genetics could elaborate the origins of a species’ traits on a level far more fundamental than, say, Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So Stories,” said the University of Exeter’s Richard H. ffrench-Constant.

H. ffrench-Constant (not involved in the project), stated in a Nature journal; “Butterflies are leading a revival in our understanding of the molecular basis of natural selection.”

From Where Monarch got its Start?

The different patterns of alteration in genomes are analyzed by researchers to conclude that North American butterflies are nearby to their ancestral roots of evolutionary tree.

The researchers assumed that, the travelling Monarchs originated in Central or South America, and established themselves in North America. But the latest proof indicates that the species got its start in southern United States or Mexico, perhaps 1mn to 2mn years ago said by Kronforst.

The butterflies most likely to followed a short range traveling pattern. The researchers says that, North American population began to expand about 20,000 years ago, at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, when butterflies could more readily spread on milkweed crowd plants in the American Midwest.

Monarch Spots

The other big inherited finding related to Monarch butterfly is distinctive orange and black spotted wings. But, in Hawaii some monarchs lack that pattern, and they have white wings. When genetic differences are analyzed by researchers, between two varieties, they found a myosin gene called DPOGS206617 which was strongly linked with wing color.

This gene is similar to a myosin gene which plays a key role in the color of a mouse’s furry coat. An alteration in that gene leads to mice with less pigment, and according to latest study the researchers says that, the butterfly’s myosin gene may play a similar role in transporting pigment to the wings. The migrating monarch butterflies are facing a shocking decline, due to factors ranging from deforestation and lack of a severe decline in the Midwest’s milkweed.

This genetic analysis did not put forward any new strategies for saving the monarchs, but it could highlight the importance of protecting an iconic species whose way of life goes back millions of years said by Kronforst.

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