9News Nigeria

SpaceX founder and CEO, Elon Musk, has announced plans to build a next-generation rocket that would allow ordinary people to travel to the Moon and Mars.

Musk made the disclosure on Monday, describing the project as a bold step toward making interplanetary travel accessible beyond professional astronauts.

According to him, the rocket is being designed to carry civilians on deep-space missions, with long-term plans focused on human settlement beyond Earth.

The SpaceX boss said the initiative aligns with the company’s vision of turning humanity into a multi-planetary species, adding that technological advancements will mark a major leap in the future of space exploration.

If successful, the project could redefine space travel, opening the door for commercial journeys to the Moon and eventually Mars.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

‎FORENSIC: The Science of Truth
‎
‎​How Apex Forensic is Revolutionizing the Nigerian Legal System
‎
‎​ABUJA, NIGERIA
‎
‎In a landmark proceeding on January 20, 2026, at the High Court Abuja, the Nigerian legal landscape witnessed a pivotal moment for forensic technology. Chief Reginald Udunze, Managing Director and Chief Consultant Analyst of Apex Forensic Science Laboratory Nigeria, Ltd., presented an expert forensic report that was not only meticulously detailed but was ultimately admitted by the court as relevant evidence.
‎
‎​For years, the legal system has grappled with the complexities of forged documents and disputed identities. However, the testimony provided by Chief Udunze marks a “giant innovative stride.” The use of highly advanced technology signals to the world that Nigeria is no longer trailing in forensic advancement; it is leading.

‎
‎The expertise displayed in court focused on the critical analysis of forensic markers that often go unnoticed by the untrained eye. Given the highly sophisticated nature of the evidence in this case, the court listened carefully to the seasoned evidence of Chief Udunze, who told the court in his testimony that he has 35 years professional experience in the field of forensic science.
‎
‎Legal observers noted that more of this veteran expertise is needed in Nigeria to help judges unveil the truth in sensitive matters involving forgery. When decades of experience meet modern technology, the margin for error disappears.

‎​
‎Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, Gloria Ugwuoke, Chief Udunze revealed that Apex Forensic specializes in unmasking the truth through rigorous scientific standards.
‎
‎​”Our mission at Apex Forensic is simple: Truth and Justice,” says Chief Udunze. “We are utilizing world-class forensic ACE-V methodology to solve complex problems, from multilayered document fraud to criminal consultancy. Our appearance in court today to testify is one of the final steps in ensuring that scientific facts lead to fair legal outcomes… as Forensic is the application of science to law, he said”.

‎​
‎As Nigeria continues to advance, the role of specialized laboratories like Apex Forensic Science Laboratory becomes even more vital. For those seeking clarity in an era of sophisticated forgery, the message is clear: The truth is no longer hidden; it is being analyzed, identified, and proven by Apex Forensic.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

By Abubakar Muhammad (9NEWS NIGERIA, NORTHEAST)

Usman Ali Busuguma is not an easy personality to describe due to his diverse presence in several fields of endeavors.

However, his name is synonymous with excellence, dedication and innovative leadership, as well as social and humanitarian services.

As the newly appointed Regional Director of the Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST) Northeast Regional Center, Busuguma is expected to make a significant impact in the region’s scientific and economic development.

His appointment was announced last week by NILEST Director General, Dr. Auwal Mustapha Imam, during a visit to Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum in Maiduguri.

This was also following the upgrade of the Maiduguri Extension Center to the Northeast Regional Center of the organization.

Born on September late 70’s, in Borno State, Nigeria, Busuguma has always been identified with his drive and passion for learning and community service.

He began his educational journey at Jahun II Primary School, Bauchi State, and later attended El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology, Maiduguri, where he had his high school.

Busuguma’s academic excellence earned him a spot at the University of Maiduguri, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry.

His thirst for knowledge and desire for specialization led him to pursue other advanced degrees and programs in science and other fields.

He obtained a Master of Science degree in Colour Chemistry from Bayero University Kano and later earned a PhD in Fiber and Polymer from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Throughout his academic and professional journey, Busuguma has demonstrated exceptional strong work ethic, and a commitment to community development.

This is evident in the various leadership positions he held through the years, including Member Trustee of the Sustainable Development for Community Base Initiative (SDCBI), Consultant at Ngetra Global Services Nigeria Limited, and Regional Director of the African Climate Change Research Center (ACCREC).

In professional leadership, he has served as Head of Chemistry Unit at the Department of Remedial Science, Financial Secretary of the Institute of Polymer Engineers (IPE) Borno Chapter and member, 2017 Conference Planning Committee of the Institute of Polymer Engineers (IPE).

Other membership of professional bodies he belongs to are: Textile Researchers’ Association of Nigeria (TRAN), Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN), Institute of Chattered Chemists of Nigeria (MICCON), Polymer Institute of Nigeria (PIN) and an associate member, Institute of Polymer Engineers (IPE) as well as a student member, Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN).

Busuguma’s expertise extends beyond science and research. He is a skilled teacher, mentor, and community leader. He has served as Chairman Trustee of Bolori Progressive Initiative and Director of Assasul Islamiyya School.

As an academic, Mr. Busuguma was a lecturer at Yobe State University in Damaturu and Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri.

Also part of his academic career were several publications in both national and international journals, contributing to ideas and discussions on Basic and Applied Sciences, Chemistry, Climate Change, Environment, Pharmaceuticals, Agribusiness and other things.

His curriculum vitae is decorated with various certificates of participation at several international and local conferences, in science and innovation, entrepreneurship and wealth creation, agricultural development and industrialization, among others.

Now in his 40s, Mr Busuguma, a husband of two and father of seven, is a popular climate change advocate and expert in Borno. His social services in tree planting campaigns and other environmental efforts to combat the effects of climate change have earned him a reputable recognition.

Traveled to several countries including Egypt, India, Dubai, South Africa and Ethiopia among others, Busuguma resides with his family in Borno State’s capital, Maiduguri.

As NILEST regional head, Busuguma is expected to leverage his cocktail of expertise, experiences and contacts to promote scientific research, innovation, and economic development in the region.

His vision is to establish the center as a hub for scientific excellence, entrepreneurship, and community engagement.

Busuguma’s appointment has been widely welcomed by stakeholders, who praise his exceptional leadership qualities, technical expertise, and passion for community development.

As he embarks on this new chapter in his career, the chemist remains committed to making a positive impact in the lives of people in the Northeast region and beyond.

His story in the coming years would serve as a testament to the power of hard work, determination, and visionary leadership.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

Plateau State Government has kick-started a science and technology contest tagged Hackathon, the very first if its kind to empower participants, and eventual winners to develop and grow innovative technology for problem-solving.

This is with a view to addressing pressing local and global challenges.

The initiative focuses on key sectors which includes education, agriculture, food security, waste management, and climate change.

The Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Professor Goselle Nanjul says the Committee’s objectives is to foster innovation and enhance female participation in technology among others.

-9News Nigeria.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

Elon Musk, the world’s second-richest billionaire, has experienced the largest wealth increase this year despite intense investor pressure to buy Tesla stock.

His net worth has increased by a whopping $45 billion between January and now.

With a net worth of $182 billion, Mr. Musk’s net worth is now close to that of Bernard Arnault ($187 billion) who is currently the world’s richest man.

Tesla’s share rise: The share price of the electric vehicle manufacturer has risen by 65% to $201.29 since January. Tesla’s increase in value, along with the overall market’s upward trend, came in with stronger-than-anticipated fourth-quarter earnings, and other events that the market saw as favorable portents of future performance.

Investors are placing a lot of money on the stock since data indicates that the company is doing well despite heightened geopolitical uncertainty. The company’s Q4 results, which were released on Jan. 25 by the company, served as the most favourable valuation trigger.

Tesla’s financial report: The EV manufacturer reported non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $1.19 on revenue of $24.32 billion, compared to the consensus analyst expectation of $1.13 on $24.16 billion in sales.

The stock received a new boost of positive momentum from the top and bottom-line beats, but there were other drivers of performance in the previous month

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

• WhatsApp has introduced a set of new features for its popular Status feature.
• The new features include a Private Audience Selector, which allows users to select the privacy settings for each status they share.
• Voice Status has been added, allowing users to record and share voice messages of up to 30 seconds on WhatsApp Status. Status Reactions will allow users to quickly respond to status updates from friends and close contacts using one of eight emojis. The platform has also added Status Profile Rings for New Updates, which will show around a contact’s profile picture whenever they share a status update.
• The ring will be visible in the chat lists, group participant lists, and contact info, ensuring that users never miss a status update from a loved one.
• Finally, the new Link Previews on Status feature allows users to see a visual preview of the link content when they post a link on their status. The updates are rolling out to users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.

Voice Status has been added, allowing users to record and share voice messages of up to 30 seconds on WhatsApp Status

Here are the five new features coming to WhatsApp Status:

Private Audience Selector: This feature gives you the flexibility to control who sees your status updates. You can choose the audience for each status and the privacy setting will be saved for future updates.

Voice Status: WhatsApp now allows you to record and share voice messages up to 30 seconds in your status.

This is a great way to share personal updates in a more natural and expressive way.

Status Reactions: Responding to status updates just got easier with the addition of status reactions. Swipe up and tap on one of eight emojis to quickly react to a status. You can still reply with text, voice messages, stickers, and more.

Status Profile Rings: Never miss a status update from your loved ones with the new status profile ring. The ring will appear around your contact’s profile picture whenever they update their status and will be visible in chat lists, group participant lists, and contact info.

Link Previews on Status: When you post a link in your status, you’ll now see a visual preview of the link content, just like when you send a message. This makes your statuses look better and provides a better idea of what the link is about before your contacts click.

Chiemerie William Eziokwu

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

The social media space has been engulfed with a series of reactions after it emerged that a robot” lawyer powered by artificial intelligence will appear in a US court next.

According to reports, the robot lawyer is a first of its kind and was designed to help a defendant fight a traffic ticket in court.

Designed by a US company

In a report reported by the US daily, the robot lawyer was designed by a US intelligence company’s CEO of DoNotPay’.

The CEO of the company, Joshua Browder said the creation is attached to a smartphone that listens to court arguments and formulates replies for the defendant. It does this with the help of headphones.

They have done something similar earlier The AI company has earlier created something similar earlier, they have in the past used AI-generated form letters and chatbots to help secure and recovers people’s fund for onboarding wifi that failed to work. Many people have reacted to this new innovation citing that it may be injurious to lawyers’ legal business, particularly lawyers who have no knowledge about artificial intelligence.

9News Nigeria

From Princely Onyenwe

Nekede Poly Rector has on Tuesday made open the 2022 account of stewardship to the staff ,management and student of the institution for record purpose. This was done as the year 2022 draws to it climax.

The Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri Rector, Engr. Dr. Michael Chidiebere Arimanwa has therefore addressed the management, staff and students of the institution where he rolled out the achievements of his administration and wished them fruitful seasons as reported by 9News Nigeria Owerri.

Rector Arimanwa made his achievements known during the 2022 end year solemn assembly held at the campus 1000 capacity where Brother Ahanonu Joseph Osondu, Pastor Dr. N.O. Kanu Ngozi, Brother Leonard Okonkwo, Ikwu Grace Ijeoma and Rev. Gideon Chris Nnawuihe officiated the gospel outing while the Rector ministered from the 1st Chronicle 29vs10-15 and Numbers 23 where he charged people to remain grateful to God.

The Rector rolled out his administration achievements to be development of a directorate for Linkages and Intervention “and in the last four years, we have been able to linked to 14 different organizations: we are connected to ICAN, you are aware that we have an understanding, very soon our graduates will start enjoying the waver of 10 courses, and the they will only write 5 courses to become Chartered Accountant.

“We are also connected to Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria (CIBN) because by the CIBN rating, we are the best linkage institution in the South East and because of that, they bequeathed to us a building which is 160 capacity auditorium for the use of the school.”

“We also received this year an award for Banking and Finance Education as the best institution from South East as far as Banking and Finance is concerned. We also have relationship with Dispensing Opticianry Registration Board of Nigeria and that arrangement is to eliminate quackery, few days ago, some of our students graduated.

We are also connected to Lofty Fans in Togo and that contact has given us the first ever Tilapia Fingering in both South East and South South Nigeria. We are connected to Sir Emeka Ofor foundation, that links have given us books and journals which are in our Library. We are connected to ZINUX Technologies, Zinux subsidized the purchase of laptops for our staff and also provided trainings for our graduates to position them for the world of work.”

“We are connected to National Board for Technological Innovation (NBTI) and they established an innovation center in our institution. We are connected to INNOSON Vehicle Manufacturing company where 33 of our students from Mechatronics Engineering were trained by Innoson Manufacturing company and they should be coming back any moment from now, the training is free.

We are connected to Occupation Safety and Health Association (OSHA) United Kingdom, this institution have become a South East training center for OSHA. We are connected to FOCUS Peace call in Canada, they have also donated educational materials.”

“We are connected to Nigeria Communications Commission. We are connected to National University of Science and Technology in Ukraine, and another University of Law and Business in Ukraine, these schools in Ukraine are for exchange of skills acquisition and technology transfer. We are connected to Jarmy Parjor International and he has given scholarship to students of Business Administration Management (BAM).”

For Research and Innovation Development, the Rector accounted that:

On infrastructure, he said “we have a school of Engineering office complex completed, we have school of Agricultural and Bioenvironmental Engineering office complex, School of Engineering Technology classroom complex, SBMT classroom complex, SEDT office complex, SEDT classroom complex, Building Technology workshop.

We have remodeling Fine Art and Design Department studio, SGS classroom complex, well furnished laboratories in different departments and schools, fish farm estate, we have a single story remodeling studio for architecture department, provision of seats in classrooms.”

“We have paid maximum attention to safety department: fire fighting equipments and committee appointed, we have done internal and external roads, our fabrication center has been upgraded and working properly.

Our institution have become a TETFund center of excellent in ICT, TETFund also gave us the best TETFund research institution in the South East, we have created ranch for our cows, our medical center has been rated the best medical center, during the Covid-19 era, we responded adequately.”

“In ICT development, we have done quite a lot, we have laid optic cable around the campus, we initiated the smart campus programme, we are among the first 6 polytechnic in ICT development, we have provided internet on campus, our ICT has grown up to the point where we are now running paperless meetings.

Now having established our programs and packages online, we have established computer lab for several schools, we have provided WIFI, we have provided electronic voting system: you can vote from anywhere. We have provided a lot of office equipments, we strengthened the water factory, we established a tissue paper factory, we have reinvigorated our security system, we have provided CCTV around the campus, we have provided computers in the library, our E- library and virtual facilities are available.

We have done well in our corporate social responsibility: we have donated to our retired staff, computers to the police, we have done well to the host communities, donated computers and printers to professional bodies, empowerment programmes for the host communities, establishment of transportation system within the campus and they are doing well.”

“We have established Education Foundation which will also assist indigent students, we have provided supports to women’s groups, we have received 132 awards: 4 are best rector awards, we have done two major accreditations and we have presented 52 programmes in all, and all of them passed, we also have resources inspection and approval to run 6 new courses which are already on.

We have established two additional schools: school of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, and school of Information and Communication Technology, they have there potentials for growth.”

“We have achieved unbundling of Mass Communication department, we are also working on unbundling computer science.

“We have been involved seriously in staff trainings as viz:

Sixty nine (69) of our staff have received approval to run Ph.D in Nigeria Universities, 7 have approval to run Ph.D in foreign Universities, 32 staff for Masters program in Nigeria Universities, 16 staff for Masters in foreign Universities, 2 staff for Post Doctoral in foreign, 124 staff TETFund sponsored conferences, workshops and seminars, 300 staff for various capacity building development and professional conferences sponsored from IGR, and 549 people were employed within the period.”

“Management will continue to work in the trajectory of projecting the institution, we have achieved a lot of visibilities for Federal Polytechnic Nekede and we will continue in the line of welfare for staff, we will establish more departments as funds are available and as much as we can attract NBTE to come and do accreditation.

Single Treasure Account is a good thing for the Federal Government, it helps the government know how much that is coming in every institution and have all the money in one place and know what to do with the money, but for institutions, part of the challenges is that the control exercise by the government is affecting individual institution, the policy is a good one except that government should look at how the disadvantages that affects the institutions is ameliorated.”

“We are in advance stage in getting additional campuses for Federal Polytechnic Nekede, before the end of January, we are hopeful that we would signed MoU with the company that will come to establish an alternative power supply, we have reached advance stage.” The Rector stated.

9News Nigeria (Owerri) For inquiries on this news contact 9News Nigeria Imo State @08036856526

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

• An international team of scientists has found that female snakes have clitorises.
• The researchers say previous research has mistaken the organs as scent glands or underdeveloped versions of penises.The study titled ‘First evidence of hemiclitores in snakes,’
• was published on Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.The study is the first complete description of the clitoris in female snakes.

The researchers found that snakes have two individual clitorises – hemiclitores – separated medially by connective tissue, forming a triangular structure that extends posteriorly.

The researchers led by Megan Folwell of the School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide in Australia, say these histological features suggest the snake hemiclitores have functional significance in mating and definitively show that the hemiclitores are not underdeveloped hemipenes or scent glands, which have been erroneously indicated in other studies.

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Our discovery supports that hemiclitores have been retained across squamates and provides preliminary evidence of differences in this structure among snake species, which can be used to further understand systematics, reproductive evolution and ecology across squamate reptiles,” she said.

The scientists concluded that the study opens fruitful avenues for research into genital development, function and evolution.

“Our discovery of likely functional snake hemiclitores implies greater morphological diversity of genitalia within squamates than previously described, from the evertable lizard hemiclitores and squamate hemipenes to the non-eversible snake hemiclitores.

Variation in the snake hemiclitores might prove to be correlated with courtship and mating behaviours and help us understand female choice.

“We suggest that the hemiclitores transduce sensation to the female snake during courtship and copulation, which might promote longer and more frequent mating leading to increased fertilisation success.

“Further investigation into the sensory features of snake hemiclitores and hemipenes are needed to determine potential tactile sensitivity. Comparative morphological investigations of hemiclitores and hemipenes within and among taxa would also provide insight into the possible coevolution of male and female genitalia,” they noted.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

Scientists have postponed the billionaire-backed study of the controversial technology called solar geoengineering.

A controversial, Bill Gates-backed sun-blocking experiment has been postponed for ethical reasons.
Concerned groups want a clearer understanding of the consequences before the launch.

The test was originally scheduled for June 2021, but will be delayed until at least 2022.
Just as quickly as it was announced, a controversial solar geoengineering experiment backed by Bill Gates has been postponed until at least 2022.

You think science is badass. So do we. Let’s nerd out over it together.
Gates and other private donors are supporting Harvard University’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program, which had planned to launch a new study based in Sweden in June researching the efficacy of blocking sunlight from reaching Earth’s surface.

The Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx) aimed to see how a tiny amount of aerosol in a trial would influence the immediate surroundings. But now, Harvard says it’s delaying the study to examine the impact on Sweden itself, as well as the indigenous Sami people who live in the region.

Bill Gates Is Thinking About Dimming the Sun.

Geoengineering is the term for technologies that try to alter Earth’s physical qualities on the largest scale possible. One example is cloud seeding, where airplanes flush clouds with particulate matter in order to coalesce into rain. Carbon capture, where emissions are taken and sequestered beneath Earth’s surface, is another major form of geoengineering.

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Scientists have devised multiple ways to block sunlight from reaching Earth’s atmosphere or surface. These are gathered under the umbrella term “solar geoengineering.” The most common and studied method is to reflect sunlight away from Earth using aerosol particles in the atmosphere, but until now, this has been seen as more of a fringe idea.

scopex experiment concept art
How the SCoPEx experiment would work.

SCoPEx planned a small pilot experiment, with the rationale that we need to scrutinize and consider the idea of solar geoengineering today so we don’t end up relying on a totally untested technology in the future. The SCoPEx experiment sought to release just a small amount of aerosol material into the sky in a specific location, but now, Harvard says even this must be considered in more detail and with ethical implications in mind.

The Harvard scientists had planned to launch a high-altitude balloon from Esrange Space Station in Kiruna, Sweden to “test whether it could in future carry equipment to release solar radiation-reflecting particles into the Earth’s atmosphere,” AFP reports. But late last month, a Harvard advisory committee that was set up to study the project’s ethical implications recommended pushing back the test “until a more thorough societal engagement process can be conducted to address issues related to solar geoengineering research in Sweden,” Harvard wrote.

“This will likely postpone the platform launch until 2022,” the committee said.

Scientists Shoot Lasers at Clouds
So what does this mean for SCoPEx, and for solar geoengineering in general? One goal of the project has always been to explore the real implications of this technology before we need it, because it’s never a good idea to launch an untested mechanism at a time of crisis. But the same factors that make solar geoengineering a radical idea make it almost impossible to test, even on the small scale.

Hopefully, the different groups involved can come to an understanding and develop a pilot experiment that more people feel is ethically sound. With everyone from investors to indigenous groups involved in the process, SCoPEx will never get off the ground without a lot of diplomacy

©️
@ Caroline Delbert

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

The mass deaths were gruesome.

A mysterious neurodegenerative disease has been killing bald eagles and other animals at lakes across the United States. And after 25 years of sleuthing, researchers have finally figured out its cause.

The disease, known as vacuolar myelinopathy (VM), was first discovered in 1994 when a large number of bald eagle carcasses were found near DeGray Lake in Arkansas. VM attacks the brains of infected animals, causing problems with motor functions and eventually leading to a “gruesome death,” according to researchers.

“When the birds are really sick, they just look really drunk, they stumble around and fall down,” co-author Susan Wilde, an aquatic scientist at the University of Georgia who has been studying VM since 2001, told Live Science. “But it gets even worse, they get paralyzed, blinded and can have tremors and seizures before eventually succumbing to the disease.”

Initially, scientists had no idea how the eagles acquired the disease. Scientists eventually identified an invasive plant and later a particular species of cyanobacteria that seemed to be responsible, but the exact mechanisms behind VM continued to elude detection.

Now, a new study has uncovered the culprit: a neurotoxin called aetokthonotoxin that is produced under certain circumstances by the cyanobacteria living on the invasive plants.

“A toxin produced by cyanobacteria that colonize a highly invasive plant, which has the capacity to affect diverse animal phyla, should not be underestimated in its potential impact on our environment,” lead author Steffen Breinlinger, a doctoral student at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, told Live Science.

What is VM?
Since it was first discovered in 1994, VM has spread quickly throughout lakes in the U.S.

“We have found it in nine states from Virginia to Texas,” Wilde said. “But I don’t think we understand just how many places this might be occurring.”

A wide range of lake species also seem to be impacted by the disease — fish, frogs, snails, salamanders, turtles and snakes, as well as smaller birds like, coots, owls and waterfowl.

However, bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are one of the most affected species because they feed on all of these other infected animals, Wilde said.

“We know it’s at least 130 eagles that have died testing VM-positive,” Wilde said. “But the recovery rate of dead bodies is probably around 10 or 12%, so it’s probably at least 10 times that number.”

Researchers test for VM by performing a necropsy immediately after the animal’s death. Lesions and damage to the brain are the only physical evidence of the disease and can only be properly identified during a short window of time after death. This makes tracking the disease and estimating deaths even harder, Wilde said.

Spreading across the U.S.
Early on, scientists discovered that VM was found only in lakes where an invasive plant species, Hydrilla verticillata, was also found. The Hydrilla, which is native to Central Africa, was first found in the U.S. in 1960 in Florida and has since become one of the most successful invasive plant species in history, according to invasive.org.

It only takes a few fragments of the Hydrilla plant or some of its tubers — structures created by plants to store nutrients that can also be used in asexual reproduction — to be introduced into a lake before it takes over and becomes almost impossible to remove, Wilde said.

However, scientists soon realized that not all lakes where Hydrilla grows were linked to VM, so something else must have been causing the disease.

In 2015, a new study by Wilde and colleagues identified a species of cyanobacteria (Aetokthonos hydrillicola) that was found on Hydrilla in lakes where VM was occurring in animals. But the exact cause of the disease still remained a mystery because the team couldn’t explain how the bacteria were causing VM.

Bacterial colonies of the cyanobacterium A. hydrillicola growing on a leaf of the invasive aquatic plant H. verticillata.

Bacterial colonies of the cyanobacterium A. hydrillicola growing on a leaf of the invasive aquatic plant H. verticillata. (Image credit: Susan Wilde)
Solving the mystery
In the new study, Wilde sent samples of the cyanobacteria to Breinlinger and other researchers in Germany, who attempted to grow cultures of the bacteria and see what toxins they produced.

To their surprise, the German team found that cyanobacteria grown in regular cultures did not produce any toxin and seemed to disprove Wilde’s theory that they were responsible for VM. However, when grown on cultures that included bromide, the plants produced a toxin that researchers now think causes VM. The toxin is called aetokthonotoxin, which translates to “poison that kills the eagle.”

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Exactly why the cyanobacteria produce the toxin and why they only do so in the presence of bromide is still unknown.

Bromide does occur naturally in lakes in small doses, but it is also introduced by humans in the form of herbicides (ironically used to control the spread of Hydrilla), as well as chemical run-off from both flame retardants and pollution from coal-powered power stations, Breinlinger said.

“It was only this discovery that made us aware that VM is also spreading due to anthropogenic influence,” Breinlinger said.

Next steps
It is highly unlikely that VM will ever be eradicated from U.S. lakes, but now that scientists better understand the toxin responsible for it, they can figure out ways to control the spread and manage the disease, Wilde said.

Related: 50 of the most endangered species on the planet

“If we control the bromide in the reservoirs, Hydrilla will not accumulate in it and ultimately Aetokthonos [the cyanobacteria] will be stripped of its weapon,” Breinlinger said. “Without bromide, it simply cannot produce the toxin in the first place.”

However, it is equally important that researchers are able to locate all the places where VM is prevalent, and Wilde believes citizen scientists could play a crucial role.

“Citizens that recognize what Hydrilla looks like and when a bird is acting really strange could be huge,” Wilde said. “We’ve just got to keep an eye out for it and keep it under control.”

The researchers are also planning to do further research on how the new toxin affects small mammals, such as mice, to see just how dangerous it could be in humans.

“There is actually some of the toxin in the tissues that waterfowl hunters would consume,” Wilde said. “It seems even more important to get to the point where we ask whether or not humans would have some health effects if we consume [the toxin].”

The new study was published online March 25 in the journal Science.

Originally published on Live Science.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

FG Working To Ease Burden Associated With COVID-19 Protocols – Dabiri-Erewa

A Nigerian-American researcher and medical doctor, Onyema Ogbuagu, has stressed the need for African leaders to position themselves to address the health challenges affecting the continent.

Ogbuagu, an Associate Professor of Medicine and Head Researcher on Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine trial at Yale University, USA said the starting point should include, developing and supporting scientists, building research infrastructure and creating enabling environments.

He gave this advice at a virtual lecture series on the topic, ‘COVID-19: Vaccine, Hesitancy, Myths and Reality’, organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) in partnership with Ngex.

Ogbuagu who was one of the researchers who developed the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine says it “will be the final nail in the coffin” for the virus that has killed over 1.6 million people worldwide.

He also dismissed concerns that the vaccine would alter deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

“I think that issue of vaccine hesitancy is not new. It’s been an issue that has played us for a long time. In fact, I think the World Health Organisation (WHO) at some point had listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the greatest threats to global health,” he said.

“I think if we just think about historically the role that vaccine has played, with either eradicating diseases, near eradicating diseases and even the year-to-year advantages, there have always been individuals that have been concerned about what vaccines are and there are a lot of misconceptions around the harms or the potential harms vaccine caused.

“Specifically, for COVID-19 vaccines, I think that one of the concerns has been about the accelerated process or timelines. I want to flag vaccine hesitancy as a serious threat for us. The punchline I would say is that thinking about COVID-19, vaccine would be one of the approaches that really hosts the greatest promise.

“You can wear a mask and maintain social distance; we know how difficult it is to maintain some of that for a long period of time and those don’t really get rid of the disease itself. I think that the vaccine will be the final nail in the coffin for COVID-19. So, we have a solution to the problem; let’s not introduce problem to the solution.

Asked if the vaccine would be taken by pregnant women, the medical doctor said the clinical trial did not include them, but maintained that the vaccine does not cause infertility.

“We did not include pregnant women. We did not include breastfeeding women. We did not include them in this study. We conducted them on non-pregnant women and we were assured of safety,” Ogbuagu said.

The Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in her opening remarks, assured travelling Nigerian citizens that the Federal Government is working round the clock to ease the burden associated with the COVID-19 pandemic protocols for its travelling Diasporans.

She said that with vaccines undergoing clinical trials, travelling Diasporans would soon be relieved with difficulties encountered during screening process once the potency of the vaccines are confirmed.

The NIDCOM boss said the usage of such vaccines will bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the stress travellers go through moving from one country to another in ascertaining their status.

Dabiri-Erewa explained that the purpose of the webinar is to let Nigerians in the Diaspora know about the efforts of the Federal Government in mitigating the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic especially on her Diasporans.

She reassured all Nigerians living abroad of the readiness of the Federal government to protect the lives of its citizenry irrespective of their status, religion and ethnic background.

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A new antiviral face mask which uses nanotechnology to kill viruses including COVID–19 and influenza has been designed and developed by a Nottingham Trent University scientist, Gareth Cave.

A scientist and nanotechnology expert at Nottingham Trent University, Cave said the new masks are due to go into production in Nottingham late November and he hopes they will be commercially available from December.

The face masks will be available for healthcare, transport and food service settings, the Daily Mail reported.

The new mask is said to use a copper lining which kills the virus rather than blocking or trapping it.

The anti-viral face covering features a fluid-repellent outer layer that reduces the inhalation of droplets that carry the disease.

The face mask features five layers, including an antiviral layer made of nano-copper.

There is also a copper lining embedded in the mask which releases ions that kill the virus if they come into contact with it.

During tests, the face mask reportedly showed the ability to kill more than 90% of coronavirus and influenza viruses over seven hours, and had a filtration efficiency of 99.98%.

“The mask we’ve developed has been proven to inactivate viruses upon contact; the antiviral layer kills virus which has been blocked by the filter layers,” Gareth said.

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A new clinical trial showed that consuming crickets can help support the growth of beneficial gut bacteria and that eating crickets is not only safe at high doses but may also reduce inflammation in the body.

The clinical trial, which was carried out in the University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States, documented for the first time the health effects of eating insects.

The co-corresponding author of the study, Prof. Tiffany Weir, of the Colorado State University, USA, said, “This study was important because insects represent a novel component in western diets and their health effects in human populations haven’t really been studied.

“With what we now know about the gut microbiota and its relationship to human health, it is important to establish how a novel food might affect gut microbial populations. We found that cricket consumption may actually offer benefits beyond nutrition,” he noted.

Another co-author, Jonathan Patz, who is a director of the UW-Madison Global Health Institute, said, “Raising insects for protein not only helps protect the environment but also offers a more healthful option than meat in many wealthy countries with high-meat diets.”

In the study, 20 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 48 ate either a controlled breakfast or a breakfast containing 25 grams of powdered cricket meal made into muffins and shakes for two weeks.

Each participant then ate a normal diet for a two-week ‘washout period.’ For the following two weeks, those who started on the cricket diet consumed a controlled breakfast and those who started on the control diet consumed a cricket breakfast.

According to sciencedaily.com, the researchers collected blood samples, stool samples and answers to gastrointestinal questionnaires immediately before the study began, immediately following the first two-week diet period and immediately after the second two-week diet period.

The participants’ blood samples were tested for a host of health measures, like blood glucose and enzymes associated with liver function, and also for levels of a protein associated with inflammation. The faecal samples were tested for the byproducts of microbial metabolism in the human gut, inflammatory chemicals associated with the gastrointestinal tract, and the overall makeup of the microbial communities present in the stools.

The study authors reported that participants had no significant side effects and found no evidence of changes in overall microbial composition or changes to gut inflammation.

They did see an increase in a metabolic enzyme associated with gut health, and a decrease in an inflammatory protein in the blood called TNF-alpha, which has been linked to other measures of well-being, like depression and cancer.

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ATACAMA DESERT, CHILE — Construction began in Chile on Friday on the European Extremely Large Telescope, which when completed will be the world’s largest optical telescope, some five times larger than the top observing instruments in use today.

The size of the ELT has the potential to transform our understanding of the universe, say its backers, with its main mirror that will measure some 39 meters (43 yards) across.

Located on a 3,000 meter-high mountain (9,800 feet) in the middle of the Atacama desert, it is due to begin operating in 2024.

Spark the spotting of more planets

Among other capabilities, it will add to and refine astronomers’ burgeoning discoveries of planets orbiting other stars, with the ability to find more smaller planets, image larger ones, and possibly characterize their atmospheres, a key step in understanding if life is present.

“What is being raised here is more than a telescope. Here we see one of the greatest examples of the possibilities of science,” said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in a speech to mark the beginning of construction at the site.

Dry air makes for near perfect conditions

The dry atmosphere of the Atacama provides as near perfect observing conditions as it is possible to find on Earth, with some 70 percent of the world’s astronomical infrastructure slated to be located in the region by the 2020s.

The ELT is being funded by the European Southern Observatory, an organization consisting of European and southern hemisphere nations. Construction costs were not available but the ESO has said previously that the ELT would cost around 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) at 2012 prices.

Source – VON

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In six months,  a 27-year-old woman Jin Qi is expected to have a nose and a mouth after losing them 25 years ago, thanks to a revolutionary reconstruction surgery by Chinese surgeons in Shanghai and a process that allows the cultivation of the facial parts on the woman’s chest.

Jin underwent a surgery lasting more than 10 hours on Monday to have her missing facial organs reshaped.

Jin is scheduled to receive four surgeries to get a new nose and mouth, according to Li Qingfeng, team leader for her rehabilitation and reconstruction, from the Ninth People’s Hospital affiliated to the School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University.

Li’s team applied a concept and technology of “repairing” to cultivate nose and upper lip tissues on the patient’s chest area for transplant. Li’s solution allows Jin to depend on herself instead of a face transplant from someone else, which was seen as a major breakthrough in the field.

Jin suffered a high fever and a rare sepsis at the age of one. Born in a remote village in Yunxi County, Shiyan City in central China’s Hubei Province, Jin and her family did not have access to adequate medical information and service. Unfortunately Jin lost her nose, lips and the facial organization around them.

Monday’s surgery aimed to expand the flap and correct maxillary deformities.

Li’s team applied a concept and technology of “repairing” to cultivate nose and upper lip tissues on the patient’s chest area for transplant.

Li’s solution allows Jin to depend on herself instead of a face transplant from someone else, which was seen as a major breakthrough in the field.

Source – Xinhua

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WASHINGTON —  The human nose, in all its glorious forms, is one of our most distinctive characteristics, whether big, little, broad, narrow or somewhere in between.

Scientists are now sniffing out some of the factors that drove the evolution of the human proboscis.

Researchers said on Thursday a study using three-dimensional images of hundreds of people of East Asian, South Asian, West African and Northern European ancestry indicated local climate, specifically temperature and humidity, played a key role in determining the nose’s shape.

Wider noses were more common in people from warm and humid climates, they found. Narrower noses were more common in those from cold and dry climates.

The nose’s primary functions are breathing and smelling. It has mucous and blood capillaries inside that help warm and humidify inhaled air before it reaches more sensitive parts of the respiratory tract.

Having narrower nasal airways might help increase contact between inhaled air and tissues inside the nose carrying moisture and heat, said Penn State University geneticist Arslan Zaidi, lead author of the study published in the journal PLOS Genetics.

“This might have offered an advantage in colder climates. In warmer climates, the flip side was probably true,” Zaidi said.

Our species appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago and later migrated to other parts of the world. The researchers said people with narrower nostrils may have done better and produced more offspring than those with wider nostrils in colder, drier locales, driving a gradual decline in nose width.

The finding generally supports what’s called Thomson’s rule, formulated by British anatomist and anthropologist Arthur Thomson (1858-1935), that people from cold, dry climates tend to have longer and thinner noses than people from warm, humid climates.

Zaidi said most previous evidence regarding Thomson’s rule came from skull measurements, while this study expanded on that by analyzing external nose shape.

The researchers studied nose width, nostril width, nose height, length of the nose ridge, nose tip protrusion, external surface area and total nostril area.

“What we have tested is a very simple hypothesis about the nose, which likely had a very complex evolutionary history. There’s a lot we don’t know,” Zaidi said, citing the need to probe genes underlying nose shape.

“One can imagine how cultural differences in attractiveness could have led to some of the differences in nose shape between populations. For example, were wider noses considered more attractive in some populations relative to others?”

VOA

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– AFP

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Astronomers have found a nearby solar system with seven Earth-sized planets, three of which circle their parent star at the right distance for liquid surface water, bolstering the prospect of discovering extraterrestrial life, research published on Wednesday showed.

The star, known as TRAPPIST-1, is a small, dim celestial body in the constellation Aquarius. It is located about 40 light years away from Earth, close by astronomical standards, but about 44 million years away at the average cruising speed of a commercial passenger jet.

Researchers said the proximity of the system, combined with the proportionally large size of its planets compared to the small star, make it a good target for follow-up studies. They hope to scan the planets’ atmospheres for possible chemical fingerprints of life.

“The discovery gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when,” NASA chief scientist Thomas Zurbuchen said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The discovery, published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, builds on previous research showing three planets circling TRAPPIST-1. They are among more than 3,500 planets discovered beyond the solar system, or exoplanets.

“This is the first time that so many Earth-sized planets are found around the same star,” lead researcher Michael Gillon, with the University of Liege in Belgium, told reporters.

Researchers have focused on finding Earth-sized rocky planets with the right temperatures so that water, if any exists, would be liquid, a condition believed to be necessary for life.

“I think that we’ve made a crucial step towards finding if there is life out there,” University of Cambridge astronomer Amaury Triaud said on a conference call with media on Tuesday.   Continued…

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Mount Aso, a volcano on Japan’s main southern island of Kyushu, erupted early on Saturday, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said, spewing volcanic ash 11,000 meters (7 miles) into the sky.

Police and municipal governments said there were no reports of injuries from the eruption, which began at 1:46 a.m. local time (1646 GMT Friday) on one of the peaks of the 1,592-metre (5,222 feet) mountain in Kumamoto Prefecture.

It was the first “explosive eruption” at the peak since January 1980, according to the meteorological agency.

The agency raised the alert level for the volcano to level 3 on a scale of 5, telling people not to approach the mountain and warning of falling rocks. It also warned of falling ash in 10 prefectures.

TV footage showed volcanic ash had accumulated on cars, houses and roads in the city of Aso and ash was falling as far as 320 km (200 miles) away, Japanese media said.

Farmers have reported that some vinyl greenhouses where tomatoes and asparagus were being grown 6-8 km (4-5 miles) away from the crater had been broken by ash and small rocks.

A window was cracked by a falling rock at an Aso youth center about 5 km (3 miles) away from the crater but there were no reports of injuries, an official at Aso city hall said.

“We are concerned that more damage on crops will be reported,” the official said.

Kyushu Electric Power Co said the eruption had no impact on its Sendai nuclear plant, which is about 160 km (100 miles) south of Mount Aso and is one of the two reactors that are online in Japan.

Up to 29,000 households lost power shortly after the eruption but the problem was fixed in less than two hours, a spokesman at Kyushu Electric said.

Mount Aso is one of the most active peaks in Japan but is also a popular hiking spot.

Japan lies on the “Ring of Fire”, a horseshoe-shaped band of fault lines and volcanoes around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, and is home to more than 100 active volcanoes.

Mount Ontake in central Japan erupted unexpectedly in 2014, killing 63 people in the worst volcanic disaster in Japan for nearly 90 years. Mount Aso also erupted in September last year, blasting a plume of black smoke 2 km (1.2 miles) high.

Source: Reuters 

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About 67 million years ago, in what is now north-west Montana in the United States of America, a dinosaur died.

How it died is unknown, but its death was recorded all the same. Over geological time, bone turned to rock. The skeleton was saved in stone.

In 2003, palaeontologists from the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Illinois retrieved it. Untouched by erosion at the surface and tectonic forces below, the fossilised skeleton was nearly complete, reaching 20ft (6m) long and 7ft (2m) tall.

With a skull full of sharp teeth and long hind limbs, it was clearly a predator. Its sex was unknown, but nevertheless its discoverers called it “Jane”.

What was Jane? There were two possibilities.

Some thought she might be a Nanotyrannus, a kind of pygmy relative of the mighty 13m-long Tyrannosaurus rex. That would mean there were two species of tyrannosaurs roaming the forests of North America during the late Cretaceous

Others said Jane was a juvenile T. rex that died too young – and that there was never any such species as Nanotyrannus. If that is true, then Jane can tell us what T. rex was like as a gangling, awkward youngster.

As many palaeontologists are coming to realise, to understand the Age of Dinosaurs, you first have to understand the age of the dinosaurs you are studying.

“Jane” the T. rex, or possibly Nanotyrannus (Credit: tehusagent, CC by 2.0)

Jane is not the only fossil that might belong to Nanotyrannus.

In 1942, David Dunkle from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Ohio had unearthed a slightly compressed skull, similar in appearance to Jane’s. It was labelled as CMNH 7541 and, for a long time, this is the only name that palaeontologists were sure of.

To understand the Age of Dinosaurs, you first have to understand the age of the dinosaurs you are studying

After poring over the skull’s features, Charles W. Gilmore – the doyen of tyrannosaur research at the time – classified it as a species of Gorgosaurus. This was one of several smaller relatives of T. rexthat lived during an earlier stage of the Cretaceous period.

However, in 1970 CMNH 7541 gained another moniker. A new study suggested it really belonged to a different tyrannosaur genus called Albertosaurus, named after dinosaur-rich deposits in Alberta, Canada.

Then in 1988, Bob Bakker of the University of Colorado and his colleagues changed the name again. They proposed that CMNH 7541 was something completely new among tyrannosaurs, a genus that no one had appreciated before. Based primarily on its thin face and small sharp teeth, they renamed the skull Nanotyrannus, literally translating as the “pygmy tyrant”.

But even that was not the end of the story.

A reconstruction of Nanotyrannus lancensis (Credit: Frederick Matzen/Alamy)

In 1999, using the excellent fossil record of Albertosaurus as a guide, Thomas Carr, now at Carthage College in Wisconsin, found that the skulls and teeth of tyrannosaurs became more robust over time.

Large dinosaurs – just like other animals – went through a remarkable sequence of sizes and shapes

Adults were big-boned, thick-toothed, and heavy, while juveniles and adolescents were sleek and lightly-built with thin teeth. In other words, the defining features ofNanotyrannus may have just been a sign of immaturity rather than a distinct identity.

Although backed by unprecedented detail and data, this idea was nothing new.

Working behind the borders of the USSR, the Russian palaeontologist Anatoly Rozhdestvensky first proposed that the Cleveland skull was just a juvenile T. rex in 1965, a time when it was still under its original name, Gorgosaurus.

Rozhdestvensky was one of the first palaeontologists to appreciate that dinosaurs changed dramatically in appearance as they grew – something many of his contemporaries did not realise. After they hatched from their grapefruit-sized eggs, he realised, large dinosaurs – just like other animals – went through a remarkable sequence of sizes and shapes.

Reconstruction of an adult T. rex with a juvenile (Credit: Ana Sofia/Alamy)

For instance, between 1941 and 1951 Chung Chien Young – “the father of Chinese palaeontology” – examined 70 specimens and managed to describe five new species of prosauropods; early relatives of the sauropod group that includes giant herbivores like Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus.

Fossils can be misinterpreted as exciting evidence of a brand-new dinosaur species

However, when Rozhdestvensky looked through the same collection, he found only one: Lufengosaurus huenei. The other four “species” were actually just snapshots of L. huenei at different points in its development from egg to adult.

As Rozhdestvensky wrote in 1965: “Growth changes are therefore of the greatest importance in determining the scope and boundaries of a species.”

As Carr laconically puts it: “Growth happens, and it changes everything.” Without taking this fact into account, fossils can be misinterpreted as exciting evidence of a brand-new dinosaur species, when really they are just evidence of a known species at different ages.

“Just imagine if you found a skeleton of a toddler,” saysStephen Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh in the UK. “If you knew very little about how humans grew, you might conclude that it was some pygmy primate species.”

It is not obvious that these two are the same species (Credit: Alliance/Alamy)

Although often ignored by western science during his time, Rozhdestvensky’s thinking has now come to dominate dinosaur palaeontology.

“We just have a lot more knowledge about how dinosaurs grew,” says Brusatte. “We recognise that when we find a new fossil and it’s different from everything else, it could be a new species… or, it could be just a growth stage of something already known.”

Growth happens, and it changes everything

Thankfully, the dinosaur fossils themselves can help researchers decide between the two alternative interpretations.

Fossil bones contain a record of the annual rhythms of their owner’s lives. Just like the rings of a tree, each year of growth is delineated against the next as growth halts in winter. This leaves a “line of arrested growth”, or LAG. The number of rings provides an accurate proxy for the age at the time of death.

What’s more, widely-spaced LAGs reveal that the dinosaur was growing quickly during that year, adding more bone before the harsh seasons arrived. In contrast, older dinosaurs had LAGs very close together in their final years of life. Their growing days were over.

Although researchers had the option of studying LAGs throughout the second half of the 20th Century, it only became commonplace in the last decade or so.

“It has taken so long to become really popular because of the idea that you actually have to cut a dinosaur bone to access this information,” says Holly Ballard, assistant professor of anatomy at Oklahoma State University. “And a lot of people are very hesitant to do that, especially if you only have one specimen of that particular species.”

The Cleveland “Nanotyrannus” skull (Credit: James St John, CC by 2.0)

But it is really not as bad as it sounds, Ballard says.

He estimated Jane’s age at death as 12 years, give or take a year

First, only a tiny sample is needed – a few millimetres will do the trick. And second, a replica piece, matching the original in shape and texture, can be made and reinserted back into the skeleton, making it appear whole once more.

The damage is minimal, but the rewards are great. Taking a slice of a non-weight-bearing bone is the best option, since any forces placed on bone can remodel its internal structure and blur any annual lines in the process.

That makes a fossilised skull – a complex mosaic of different bones that are often subjected to extraordinary bite forces – a poor choice. The Cleveland skull, therefore, remains ageless to science.

This is where Jane comes in. In 2003, Gregory Erickson of Florida State University in Tallahassee was given permission to take a small slice out of Jane’s fibula; the accessory shinbone to the weight-bearing tibia. After polishing the sample and placing it underneath a microscope, he estimated Jane’s age at death as 12 years, give or take a year.

She was going through a growth spurt

That makes Jane a juvenile. Adult tyrannosaurs attain maturity at around 20 years of age, and lived until their early 30s.

In theory, Jane could have belonged to an unusual species of tyrannosaur with an exceptionally short lifespan. But it seems unlikely. In the years just before her death, Jane’s annual growth rings were very far apart and the microstructure of the bone was highly porous, indicative of blood vessels nourishing the cells that secreted the bone.

In other words, she was nowhere near a fully-grown adult when she died. Instead, she was going through a growth spurt.

A Nanotyrannus hunting a juvenile T. rex (Credit: Stocktrek Image Inc/Alamy)

In 2005, after slicing through the bones of adult T. rexspecimens, Erickson demonstrated exactly how this species grew to be a giant among giants. After comparing their LAGs to the smaller – but still 33ft (10m) long – Albertosaurus andGorgosaurus, he demonstrated that tyrannosaurs all seemed to go through a growth spurt that lasted for about 10 years.

I have my whole life to decide whether I think Nanotyrannus is a T. rex

The difference was the rate. While the smaller species were struggling to put on 1lb (500g) of weight per day, T. rex was adding over 4lb (2kg). That is like adding a classic Mini Cooper, complete with driver and a passenger, in mass every year.

“There’s this huge boost in growth through the teenage years,” says Tom Williamson of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. “It’s much greater than what you see in other tyrannosaurs. It’s just more. With T. rex, everything is more.”

From deep within her bones, Jane’s true identity had started to emerge. If she had not died when she did, she would probably have become a giant herself. “[Jane] would fit right in with being a T. rex,” says Erickson.

The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex (Credit: Atomazul/Alamy)

But he is still reluctant to conclude that Jane really was just a juvenile T. rex – and that Nanotyrannus never existed as a separate species. “I have my whole life to decide whether I think Nanotyrannus is a T. rex,” says Erickson. “And on my deathbed I may not even make a decision.”

Jane, no doubt, is a juvenile

However, other palaeontologists are more confident in the evidence.

Carr is currently working on a monograph of the Jane specimen, detailing its every nook and cranny and profiling her features. Taken as a whole, he finds little evidence that Jane could be anything but a young T. rex.

“You have to work really hard at ignoring all of the evidence that shows that it’s a juvenile and that, in terms of identity, it’s T. rex,” he says. “You have to close your eyes and plug your ears.”

Brusatte agrees. “Jane, no doubt, is a juvenile,” he says. “Absolutely no doubt. Some people have argued that it’s not, which is insanity. When that monograph comes out it will mostly shut the book on Nanotyrannus.”

A juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, with feathers (Credit: Felix Choo/Alamy)

That means Jane provides a rare glimpse into an iconic giant’s early years as a smaller predator.

She was in an “awkward gangly teenage phase”

“The fossil record was really poor for young tyrannosaurs,” says Carr. “And Jane is virtually complete. [She] will help set out the growth changes of how we get from a juvenile to a full adult.”

Even without a monograph, many changes are obvious with little more than a cursory glance at the skeleton. Unlike the thick bones and deep skulls of adulthood, Jane’s skeleton is lightly-built, sleek, and long-limbed.

Within her skull, her teeth are thin and serrated like steak knives. Jane would have been an agile hunter, more akin to a large raptor than her older kin. She was in an “awkward gangly teenage phase,” says Brusatte.

She may also have been clad in a coat of feathers. The fossils of T. rex‘s ancestors show the trademark imprints of simple hair-like outgrowths covering large portions of the body, more akin to the coat of New Zealand’s kiwi than a New Caledonian crow. “The only logical conclusion is that T. rexitself had feathers,” says Brusatte.

The adult T. rex was such a freak of evolution, or a feat of evolution

Jane’s early death is a metaphor for her entire species.  “T. rex was the James Dean of dinosaurs,” says Erickson. “These things lived fast and died young.”

During a decade of adulthood, T. rex was the size of a double-decker bus. Its jaws and teeth could crunch through bone, inflicting deep gouges into the skulls of adolescent Triceratops – as well as the faces of other T. rexes.

“The adult T. rex was such a freak of evolution, or a feat of evolution,” says Brusatte. “Whatever you want to call it, it’s really both. But understanding how that adult grew, how it developed, what it had to go through to get to that stage of being seven tonnes, 13 metres long… That’s a fascinating biological, anatomical question. And we’re really getting at it. That’s really amazing. That’s what we should be revelling in.”

 

– BBC

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Brace yourselves dog lovers. Man’s best friend could potentially be replaced with an even better friend according to new findings from animal welfare experts in the Netherlands’ Wageningen University.

The study was tasked with evaluating which animals were suitable as domestic pets and covered a range of 90 different wild species from around the world. The most startling result however was the fact that dogs didn’t make the cut for the top 25 animals suitable as pets.

Researchers rated animals based on their biological make up, needs, threat to humans and general well-being when kept in captivity. The analytical framework used to determine these results were also based on the the short phrases which best describe each animal via expert knowledge and information obtained from numerous encyclopedias.

On the top of the domestic pets list? The East Asian Sika deer, or better known as the male variant, the Stag. Coming in at a close second is the Agile wallaby followed by the Tammar wallaby, llama and the Asian palm civet.

The researchers hope that these startling results will be used to further understand and raise awareness for keeping wild animals in captivity. If you’re still in denial you can check out our ten best dog breeds for men here.

See the list of the top 25 animals above. And a massive shout out to the Screaming Hairy Armadillo for lobbing in at number 25.

Source: Dmarge

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