2020

Gavialimimus almaghribensis fossil

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An article published in the “Journal of Systematic Palaeontology” reports the identification of a new species of mosasaur that lived between 66 and 72 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period. A team of researchers led by Catie Strong, a student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta, Canada, named it Gavialimimus almaghribensis after examining a skull and some bones discovered in a mine in present-day Morocco. The researchers noted the similarities of the teeth with those attributed to Platecarpus ptychodon, another mosasaur whose fossils were discovered in Morocco, but question the taxonomic validity of that species, so they created a whole new genus for the identified species.

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The novel “Damnation Alley” by Roger Zelazny was published for the first time in 1969. It’s an extension of a novella published in 1967.

Hell Tanner is a criminal who’s ruthless even by the standards of the territories that used to be the USA before a nuclear war led to their fragmentation. When he gets caught, he can expect no leniency but is offered the chance to receive a pardon if he agrees to transport a shipment of vaccines from Los Angeles to Boston, where an epidemic is striking the population hard.

Assisted by a crew of volunteers, Hell Tanner drives a group of three armored cars with a large array of weapons of various kinds. The crossing of North America holds a series of dangers in a post-apocalyptic world where the climate has gone mad, geography has been altered, flora and fauna have changed at times monstrously, and there are always other human beings ready to cut the throats to anyone if they think they can get something from them.

Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) in People of Earth (Image courtesy CBS / Netflix. All rights reserved)

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“People of Earth” is the 3rd episode of the 3rd season of the TV show “Star Trek: Discovery” and follows “Far From Home”.

After repairs, the USS Discovery is ready to start its new journey. A years old message sent by one Admiral Senna Tal is a Federation trail leading to Earth, but upon arrival, the crew is greeted with hostility. The arrival of a group of what looks like pirates with their leader Wen (Christopher Heyerdahl) demanding dilithium complicates the situation.

Dead of Winter by James Goss

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The novel “Dead of Winter” by James Goss was published for the first time in 2011.

The Tardis makes a violent landing that starts a fire. The Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory are found and taken to a clinic in St Christophe in 1783 in a confused state. Dr. Bloom, who runs the clinic, tries to help them recover their memory, and some progress comes when one of the two men claims to be Dr. Smith while the other claims to be Mr. Pond and that Amy is his wife.

Patients at the clinic include noblemen of various nationalities and Maria, a French child left by her mother in the care of Dr. Bloom and his wife Perdita. Even remembering little, the travelers start noticing oddities like tuberculosis treatments that didn’t exist at the time. The clinic is on the coast, and strange events with enigmatic apparitions are reported on the beach.

Timewise by Robert Leet

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The novel “Timewise” by Robert Leet was published for the first time in 2017.

Ron Larsen is just a teenager when he first meets Regina Russo, a physics teacher who is doing some research in the field of quantum physics. When she talks to him about the hypothesis that awareness generates time and her other speculations on the subject, that’s enough for him to direct him towards physics and a few years later Regina becomes Ron’s mentor.

Despite his studies, Ron Larsen isn’t particularly interested in scientific research. Trying to make some money playing poker, he ends up using his math knowledge for a completely different purpose. The consequence is that he starts working on mathematical applications in the field of finance, but it’s only a matter of time before he finds himself attracted again to the studies about time conducted by Regina, who also started conducting experiments.