| News Briefs - January-February - Online Extra |
Find Huge Pliosaur
Along the United Kingdom’s
Jurassic Coast a local collector
has discovered the fossilized
skull of a pliosaur, a giant “sea
monster.” Pliosaurs, a form of
plesiosaur, were huge aquatic
reptiles with short necks,
crocodilian-like heads, powerful
jaws and large razor-sharp teeth.
They used four paddle-like limbs
to propel themselves through the
water. Scientists who examined it
marveled at its immense size.—
BBC News (10/27/09)
Grizzlies Threatened Again
The 600 grizzly bears in and
around Yellowstone National
Park are going back on the
threatened species list. The
bears are being pressured by
hunters, lax protection, and
climate change. Hundreds of
thousands of the area’s
whitebark pine trees whose nuts
the bears rely on have died over
the past two decades. This has
forced the grizzlies to spread out
looking for food, and many have
been shot in conflicts with
humans.—(Racine) Journal
Times (9/22/09)
A Patch for
Damaged Heart Muscle
Working with mice, Israeli
scientists have had success in
using a patch made from heart
muscle to fix scarring left over
from a heart attack. The patch
was grown in abdominal tissue
and then transplanted to
damaged areas of the heart.
This experiment was the first to
show patches can improve a
damaged heart. Heart attacks
usually cause irreversible
damage to the heart muscle. It is
hoped treatment for humans may
eventually be available.—BBC
News (8/24/09)
Along the United Kingdom’s
Jurassic Coast a local collector
has discovered the fossilized
skull of a pliosaur, a giant “sea
monster.” Pliosaurs, a form of
plesiosaur, were huge aquatic
reptiles with short necks,
crocodilian-like heads, powerful
jaws and large razor-sharp teeth.
They used four paddle-like limbs
to propel themselves through the
water. Scientists who examined it
marveled at its immense size.—
BBC News (10/27/09)
Grizzlies Threatened Again
The 600 grizzly bears in and
around Yellowstone National
Park are going back on the
threatened species list. The
bears are being pressured by
hunters, lax protection, and
climate change. Hundreds of
thousands of the area’s
whitebark pine trees whose nuts
the bears rely on have died over
the past two decades. This has
forced the grizzlies to spread out
looking for food, and many have
been shot in conflicts with
humans.—(Racine) Journal
Times (9/22/09)
A Patch for
Damaged Heart Muscle
Working with mice, Israeli
scientists have had success in
using a patch made from heart
muscle to fix scarring left over
from a heart attack. The patch
was grown in abdominal tissue
and then transplanted to
damaged areas of the heart.
This experiment was the first to
show patches can improve a
damaged heart. Heart attacks
usually cause irreversible
damage to the heart muscle. It is
hoped treatment for humans may
eventually be available.—BBC
News (8/24/09)
World’s Largest Cruise
Ship is Launched
The world’s largest cruise ship
has launched and headed for its
home port in Florida. The Oasis
of the Seas is five times larger
than the Titanic, has seven
neighborhoods, a golf course, a
750-seat outdoor amphitheater,
and a 1,300-seat indoor theater.
The ship boasts 2,700 cabins,
can accommodate 6,300
passengers, and has a crew of
2,100. Tickets for a voyage on
the Oasis range from $1,299 to
$4,829. Some travel experts
worry about mega cruise ships
because of the economy and
whether or not they destroy the
cruise experience.—Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel (10/31/09)
Did an Asteroid Wipe Out
The Dinosaurs?
Some geoscientists are
questioning the hypothesis that
dinosaurs were wiped out by a
giant asteroid impact on the
Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
They studied the fossils both
above and below the layer of
sediment left by the asteroid
and found the same species, 52
in all. If the layers above the
impact layer took 300,000 years
to accumulate, as they believe,
that means dinosaurs survived
for up to 300,000 years after the
asteroid hit.—Answers (Oct-Dec,
2009)
Ship is Launched
The world’s largest cruise ship
has launched and headed for its
home port in Florida. The Oasis
of the Seas is five times larger
than the Titanic, has seven
neighborhoods, a golf course, a
750-seat outdoor amphitheater,
and a 1,300-seat indoor theater.
The ship boasts 2,700 cabins,
can accommodate 6,300
passengers, and has a crew of
2,100. Tickets for a voyage on
the Oasis range from $1,299 to
$4,829. Some travel experts
worry about mega cruise ships
because of the economy and
whether or not they destroy the
cruise experience.—Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel (10/31/09)
Did an Asteroid Wipe Out
The Dinosaurs?
Some geoscientists are
questioning the hypothesis that
dinosaurs were wiped out by a
giant asteroid impact on the
Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
They studied the fossils both
above and below the layer of
sediment left by the asteroid
and found the same species, 52
in all. If the layers above the
impact layer took 300,000 years
to accumulate, as they believe,
that means dinosaurs survived
for up to 300,000 years after the
asteroid hit.—Answers (Oct-Dec,
2009)
Older People Are Happier
Older people are less likely to
be unhappy than younger
people, according to U. of
California researchers. Their
analysis suggests people over
65 have more control of their
emotions, which helps them cope
with stressful situations.—
Consumer Reports OnHealth
(November, 2009)
Heavy Traffic May Raise
Heart Attack Risk
People at high risk of a heart
attack may be at even higher
risk when driving or just riding in
heavy traffic, even in a bus or
on a bicycle. Air pollution and
stress may be responsible for
the elevated risk. Researchers
based this conclusion after
studying data from 1,400 people
who had heart attacks, finding
those who died were three times
more likely to have been in
heavy traffic within an hour of
when the attack symptoms
started.—Mayo Clinic Health
Letter (October, 2009)
Can Bad Driving Habits
Be Blamed on Genes?
A bad gene may be partly
responsible for the bad driving
habits of some people, such as
slow reaction time and risk-
taking. A study at the U. of
California, Irvine, found people
with a gene variation that gave
them less brain protein did more
than 20% worse on driving tests
that drivers with higher levels of
the protein. However, other
factors are probably also
involved because one-third of
drivers appear to have this gene
abnormality.—Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel (11/4/09)
Older people are less likely to
be unhappy than younger
people, according to U. of
California researchers. Their
analysis suggests people over
65 have more control of their
emotions, which helps them cope
with stressful situations.—
Consumer Reports OnHealth
(November, 2009)
Heavy Traffic May Raise
Heart Attack Risk
People at high risk of a heart
attack may be at even higher
risk when driving or just riding in
heavy traffic, even in a bus or
on a bicycle. Air pollution and
stress may be responsible for
the elevated risk. Researchers
based this conclusion after
studying data from 1,400 people
who had heart attacks, finding
those who died were three times
more likely to have been in
heavy traffic within an hour of
when the attack symptoms
started.—Mayo Clinic Health
Letter (October, 2009)
Can Bad Driving Habits
Be Blamed on Genes?
A bad gene may be partly
responsible for the bad driving
habits of some people, such as
slow reaction time and risk-
taking. A study at the U. of
California, Irvine, found people
with a gene variation that gave
them less brain protein did more
than 20% worse on driving tests
that drivers with higher levels of
the protein. However, other
factors are probably also
involved because one-third of
drivers appear to have this gene
abnormality.—Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel (11/4/09)
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