ARTICLES
Ancestor of all placental mammals was an insect eater
Placental mammals were early insectivores and lived along with dinosaurs in the Late cretaceous. During cretaceous mass extinction, dinosaurs became extinct and opened up lots of dietary niches. The ancestral insectivore radiated out into all the niches and had 5 chitinase genes. But those who got adapted for other diets lost their chitinase genes through accumulation of various mutations. These gene remnants passed on to all mammals now exist, as pseudo genes.
This ancient bird hatchling preserved in amber provides insights into early bird evolution
Scientists have recently made an incredible discovery of a piece of amber that contained well preserved remains of an alomost complete bird hatchling. The discovery was made from Burma.
Brachiosaurus, the arm lizard
Longer fore legs offers Brachiosaurus a passive advantage in reaching up into the tree canopy to feed as the neck is always arched upwards. Since the skeleton and vertebrae would be angled in such a way, Brachiosaurus would not need extra powerful muscles to lift the head and neck all the way up, reducing the effort to feed in such a specialised way.
Nudibranchs, the naked sea slugs
What are Nudibranchs?
Nudibranchs are marine molluscs of the Class Gastropoda. Nudibranchs are commonly called as Sea slugs. An important character of nudibranchs is the...
Velociraptor
Name: Velociraptor (Swift seize.r)
Phonetic: Vell-oss-e-rap-tor.
Named By: Henry Fairfield Osborn - 1924.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria, Saurischia Theropoda Tetanurae Coelurosauria Dromaeosauridae.
Species: V. mongoliensis, V. osmolskae.
Type: Carnivore....
What are the causes of a Tsunami
Tsunami, are dangerous natural disasters caused by large movements of rock in the ocean or by extra-terrestrial bodies. While these giant waves may hardly...
Whale Falls and Whale fall communities
What is a Whale Fall?
Whales are the largest living organisms living on the surface of Earth. An adult blue whale weighs up to 173...
Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution: Theodosius Dobzhansky
Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution
As recently as 1966, sheik Abd el Aziz bin Baz asked the king of...
Why does the consumption of alcohol produce a burning sensation?
Why does drinking alcohol feels like burning?
Everyone ever tasted alcohol knows the burning sensation it produces. But what is actually producing this burning sensation?...
These microscopic animals lives on your face!
Did your ever realise that microscopic mites live on your face and entire body through out the life time? These mites called Demodex live...
INFO OF THE DAY
Glass eels, the transparent fishes
Flat and transparent larva of eels are called as Leptocephalus (slim head). Leptocephalus larva undergoes metamorphosis and enters a stage called as glass eels, before entering freshwater. It has the shape of an adult eel, with small size and without any pigmentation. Following this stage the young eels are called “elvers”
