The Art of Scientific Illustration Paleontology Science and Art Zoology 

Dakotaraptor: Giant Raptor Straight Out of Hell Creek

By Emily Willoughby For centuries, dinosaurs have captured the public’s imagination through their massive proportions and power, and their ancestral connection to birds has more recently brought a new fascination to paleontology. But when a newly discovered dinosaur is both huge and covered in feathers, it becomes the stuff of legend—a true dragon shaped by evolution instead of mythos. Meet Dakotaraptor steini, one of the largest “raptor” dinosaurs known to science. This 17-foot-long predator was described by Robert DePalma, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural…

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Photo by Lisa Brown via Flickr Environment Zoology 

Citizen Science Informs Bird Feeder Dilemma

By Jonathan Trinastic @jptrinastic If you enjoy turkey this Thanksgiving, take a moment to think not about the bird on your plate but rather the birds outside your home. With increasing urbanization taking away more natural habitat, local wildlife is having difficulty finding food. Bird feeders have become a popular way for homeowners to help local wildlife and contribute to conservation efforts. But are these feeders, borne of good intentions, actually helping or hurting wild birds? A recent study has enlisted the help of Canadian citizens to find out. Feeding the…

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Humans to Mars by 2030 Astronomy and Astrophysics 

We May Send Humans to Mars by 2030

Our partners at ResearchGate recently spoke with Alfonso Davila from SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, about what draws us to explore the red planet and beyond. Interested in Mars? Don’t miss this other article about the Martian atmosphere.  ResearchGate: What motivates you to explore living conditions – and possible life – on Mars? Davila: The motivation is twofold. On the one hand there is this nagging drive to understand life at the most fundamental levels (the “what is life?” question), and on the other hand there is this obsessive curiosity about the possibility of life elsewhere…

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Batteries: Image: MotorBlog.com Engineering New Technologies Physics 

Small Step for Batteries, Giant Leap for Electric Cars

By Jonathan Trinastic @jptrinastic Solving the Silicon Swelling Problem in Batteries The dream of an electric transportation revolution—recharging stations dotting rural highways, noiseless sedans gliding across pavement—lives in the minds of many who hope to move beyond oil dependence. But the reality of this transformation will elude us until battery technology improves. Expensive and overweight, current lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology cannot support long car trips and would require lower costs to be commercially viable. Now, the ignition for such a revolution may be arriving in the form of silicon. New…

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Peggy Matson, Electrical Engineer Engineering Science Videos 

This Electrical Engineer Invents the Future

By Chantal Brine With several patents to her name, electrical engineer Peggy Matson loves her work, and loves inventing the future. In this interviews, she explains what she enjoys most about her career, and what you can do to head toward your own career in electrical engineering. Women in Tech, Women in Action Techsploration’s Women In Action series delivers a quick overview of over forty careers in sciences, technology, trades, and engineering. The series features short clips of various female role models who share “the best thing” about their careers. The series…

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Artist's impression of sabertooth cats hunting mammoths (Mauricio Anton). Environment Paleontology Zoology 

Large Hunters Dominated the Pleistocene

For years, evolutionary biologists have wondered about the ecosystems of the Pleistocene epoch. How did so many species of huge, hungry herbivores, such as mammoths, mastodons, and giant ground sloths, not wipe out the plant life? Observations of modern elephants suggest that large concentrations of those animals could have essentially destroyed the environment, but they didn’t. Now, life scientists believe that the ecosystem was kept in balance by predatory carnivores that kept the population of large herbivores in check. Scientists have found fossil evidence of intense, violent attacks by packs…

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Deep Sea Creatures: Angler Fish Oceanography Science Videos Zoology 

Eight Incredible Deep Sea Creatures

Dr. Joe delivers another terrific It’s OK To Be Smart video, and we are excited to share it with you. Meet eight of the freakiest deep sea creatures. By Joe Hanson We know more about some other planets than we do about the deepest corners of Earth’s oceans, and the species we’ve found there are almost alien. Here’s some of the most unbelievable deep sea creatures ever observed! Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) for help with this video! Twitter/Periscope: @jtotheizzoe @okaytobesmartSnapchat: YoDrJoeInstagram: @jtotheizzoeFacebook: facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart Whale illustrations…

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