TIGER PROTECTOR

That Thing With Feathers Trapped in Amber? It Was a Dinosaur Tail

While most paleontologists dig up prehistoric bones from the ground, Lida Xing hunts for fossils in the amber markets of Myanmar. In 2015, he made a remarkable find: Trapped in what looked like golden glass was the feathered tail of a dinosaur.

Along with the primitive plumage, the 99-million-year-old amber also preserved soft tissue and eight complete vertebrae. The tail bones indicated that the specimen belonged to a dinosaur that was not a prehistoric bird and also provided researchers with insight into the evolution of feathers.

“This is the first time that skeletal material from a dinosaur has been found in amber,” Dr. Xing, who is a paleontologist at China University of Geosciences in Beijing, said in an email. He and his colleagues published their findings Thursday in the journal Current Biology.

After performing a CT scan and microscopic analysis, Dr. Xing and his colleagues realized that the feathers did not belong to a bird because the specimen’s tail vertebrae were not fused into a rod, as they are in modern birds. The feathers most likely belonged to a baby nonavian theropod, meaning it looked more similar to a velociraptor or Tyrannosaurus rex than -Read More

Historians and scientists create digital images of Scots king

Scientists and historians believe they have created digital images of what could be the head of Robert the Bruce.

It is reconstructed from the cast of a human skull held by the Hunterian Museum with the realistic images coming from historians at the University of Glasgow and craniofacial experts at Liverpool John Moores University.

Robert Bruce, was no stranger to the battle field, with the the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 the fight he is most well known for, when he won independence for Scotland.

He was the King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329 at the age of 54.

Historians believe that Bruce suffered from an unidentified ailment, most likely leprosy, and the the -Read More and see video of images

Paris wages war on rodent infestation

 Both Nadine Mahe des Portes and the rat panicked when she inadvertently stepped on it on her walk back from work through Paris.

“I heard a terrible squeak,” the property agent recalled with a shudder. “I thought I’d stepped on a child’s toy or something.”

When Parisians are literally tripping over rats on the sidewalk, it is clear that the City of Light has a problem. Professional exterminators with decades on the job struggle to recall infestations as impressive — perhaps that should be repulsive — as those now forcing the closure of Paris parks, where squirmy clumps of rats brazenly feed in broad daylight, looking like they own the place.

On Friday, City Hall threw open one of the closed parks, the Tour Saint-Jacques square a block from the Seine, to show journalists its latest anti-rat drive. The park in the heart of the city is only a short walk from the Pompidou art museum. Two Japanese tourists searching for Notre Dame cathedral, also just minutes away, thankfully didn’t notice the rats in bushes just in front of them when th-Read More

School forced to sell advertising space to pay for urgent repairs

A PRIMARY school has been reduced to selling advertising space in order to try and fund essential repairs.

Carden Primary School in Brighton has applied for planning permission for advertising banners it has put up along it’s perimeter fencing.

The school said the revenue would be used to pay to replace the fencing which had become “dangerous and unfit for purpose” having failed to secure public money for the repairs.

Unions said the move was symptomatic of a crisis in school funding.

School staff said banners up to 30 metres long would be used to promote local banners and would not advertise any products deemed detrimental to children.

As well as paying for school repairs, funds will also be used towards extra-curricular activities for children.

The plans have been greeted with large support from residents with 26 letters of support sent to the council and just seven of objection.-Read More

PEE-BACK TIME

CIVIC chiefs are fighting back against revellers who damage ancient city walls by peeing on them.

The sandstone has been covered with liquid-repellent clear paint, which causes urine to bounce back leaving footwear and clothing soaked.A video showing a bearded “hipster” getting “pee-back” is being promoted via social media, beers mats and posters.

The famous walls were built by the Romans around 70AD in Chester.

Cllr Karen Shore, the council’s cabinet member for environment, said: “Most party-goers will enjoy the festive season and respect our beautiful city.Read More

Are giraffes an endangered species?

Researchers are working to get a more accurate count of the giraffe population but describe all giraffes in all parts of the African continent as either decreasing in number or unstable. The declining numbers are due largely to poaching, habitat loss, human population growth and degradation of the giraffe's habitat. Two subspecies of giraffe have populations of less than 250 animals, including the West African giraffe and the Nubian giraffe. Around half of the giraffes in Africa today are Masai giraffes.-Read More