2019

A stiff skull behind the powerful bite of Tyrannosaurus rex

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An article published in the journal “The Anatomical Record” reports a study of the anatomy of Tyrannosaurus rex’s skull which offers an explanation of how it could have bite so powerful that it could crush of its prey’s bones without breaking its own bones. A team of researchers led by Ian Cost of Albright College examined the characteristics of the T. Rex skull also using computer simulations concluding that it was as stiff as those of modern hyenas and crocodiles and not as flexible as those of snakes and birds.

A proposal to reconstruct the colors of fossil animals

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An article published in the journal “Biological Reviews” presents a study on the pigmentation of fossil animals. A team of researchers proposed a number of steps to reconstruct the pigmentation of a species based on specific tests of fossils and, if no information can be found, based on the examined animal’s hypotheses concerning physiology, ecology and behavior. The aim is to improve and expand our current knowledge on the subject.

An impact in the asteroid belt might have triggered the Great Ordovician Biodiversity Event on Earth

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An article published in the journal “Science Advances” reports a study linking the fragmentation of an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter about 466 million years ago to what is known as the Great Ordovician Biodiversity Event (GOBE). A team of researchers led by geologist Birger Schmitz of Lund University, Sweden, analyzed micrometeorites from that era. The ones of L-type chondrite type that can be linked to the fragments of that asteroid date back to the time of the ice age that marked the beginning of that biodiversity.

Binary Storm by Christopher Hinz

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The novel “Binary Storm” by Christopher Hinz was published for the first time in 2016. It’s part of the Paratwa series.

Nick Smith is officially a common programmer at E-Tech but he survived decades of cryogenic stasis and after his awakening at the end of the 21st century he found an Earth barely habitable for humanity. A war is taking place between normal humans and binaries, a lineage of killers genetically engineers raised so that two bodies can share a common consciousness.

An attempted murder gives Nick Smith the chance to become close to Annabel Bakana, an E-Tech executive. Together, the two of them look for new ways to fight the binaries, particularly those belonging to the so-called Royal Caste, the most lethal and ruthless. Assembling a team capable of fighting binaries requires extreme measures.

Yuko Tanabe (Kiki Sukezane) in Taizo (Image courtesy AMC Studios / Amazon. All rights reserved)

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“Taizo” is the sixth episode of the second season of the TV show “The Terror”, which was named “The Terror: Infamy”, and follows “Shatter Like a Pearl”. It’s broadcast in the USA on AMC Studios and in other nations on Amazon Prime Video.

1919. Yuko Tanabe (Kiki Sukezane) arrives in the USA to marry Hideo Furuya (Eiji Inoue) in an arranged marriage but must confess to him that she’s pregnant. At that point he kicks her out, forcing her to live on the street, where she can barely survive. When she decides to take her own life, the meeting with a mysterious woman (Natsuki Kunimoto) changes everything.