New species of weird bird-like dinosaur discovered in China

A farmer and construction workers in China have discovered the remains of a new species of bird-like dinosaur that appears to have died after getting stuck in the mud.

The find, experts say, adds weight to the idea that such animals were thriving shortly before the mass extinction 66 million years ago.

Around the size of a sheep, with a beak, wings and a crest on its head, the flightless creature is thought to be a species of oviraptorosaur - a group of bird-like, feathered, toothless and short-skulled non-avian dinosaurs that were roaming the land in the period shortly before an asteroid slammed into Earth off the coast of Mexico, triggering the annihilation of swaths of life.

“If you saw it alive you would just think it was a weird bird,” said Stephen Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh who, with colleagues in China, co-authored the research published in the journal Scientific Reports.


But the newly discovered dinosaur appears to have suffered an untimely demise. “It looked like it got trapped in mud, and that’s how it died,” said Brusatte. “The neck is arched, the head is raised up, like it’s sticking its head above something, and both of the arms are outstretched and to the sides of the body, and so it’s like it’s trying to free itself.”

Named Tongtianlong limosus - which means “muddy dragon on the road to heaven” the dinosaur appears to have died after getting stuck in the mud. Its fossilized remains were discovered on the building.

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Is Coconut Oil Good for Brain Health?

There’s a lot of buzz right now about coconut oil being good for your brain. The primary argument is that coconut oil is rich in medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs , which are metabolized a little differently than most types of fat.

The MCTs in coconut oil break down into ketones, which can be used by brain cells for fuel. The idea is that supplying the brain with some extra fuel might make it run better.

Under normal circumstances, brain cells use glucose for energy. But because your brain is so important to your survival, there’s a back-up plan. If you run out of glucose, your body starts to convert stored fats into ketones, which are transported to the brain. It’s a little like having a back-up generator for your house. If you lose power during a storm, the back-up generator will kick in to keep the lights on.

Although it’s certainly better than being in the dark, most back-up generators are designed to be used only in emergencies until regular power is restored. Similarly, although they will gladly use ketones when no other energy source is available, healthy brain cells will preferentially burn glucose if it’s available.

So the fact that coconut oil supplies ketones doesn’t necessarily mean that the brain will use them for fuel. And perhaps that’s why I can’t find any studies showing that simply adding coconut oil to the diet leads to improvement in cognitive function in people with normal brain function.

Source: QuickAndDirtyTips.com

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See the most Incredible Pictures yet of the Martian surface released by NASA's Curiosity Rover

NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring the lower portion of Mount Sharp on Mars, and it’s just sent back a handful of colour images that give us unprecedented views of the strange rock formations on the Red Planet.

As you can see from the images below, Mars looks oddly familiar, and it’s gotten scientists pretty excited. "Curiosity's science team has been thrilled to go on this road trip through a bit of the American desert Southwest on Mars," says Curiosity project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada.

The images were taken on September 8 in the Murray Buttes region on the lower levels of Mount Sharp, which forms the central peak inside Mars’s colossal Gale crater.

First discovered back in the 1970s, the mountain appears to be a giant mound of eroded sedimentary layers that rises 5.5 km (18,000 feet) above the valley floor. It’s not clear where the layers came from, but it’s estimated that the mountain took some 2 billion years to form.

As the name implies, the Murray Buttes region is filled with formations called buttes and mesas, which are like small, rocky plateaus rising up from the mountain slope.

According to NASA, the rover team plans to assemble several large, colour mosaics from all the images taken at this location in the near future, but until then, just soak up the awesomeness of these incredible snaps.

Just don't forget to remind yourself that this is Mars the Red Planet, and it's 225 million km (140 million miles) away. Thank you, Curiosity! You really doing a great job.

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Scientists discover why snakes are so long

Snakes owe their long, slithery bodies to a single gene, research has shown. The Oct4 gene regulates stem cells and affects the growth of the middle part, or trunk, of a vertebrate's body.

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Have you heard of Cockroach Milk? Newly discovered Cockroach specie can give birth to young ones alive

The female Pacific beetle cockroach is one of a kind. Unlike other insect species, this Hawaiian native gives birth to young ones alive.

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Nasa Spacecraft 'Juno' successfully enters Planet Jupiter's Orbit after Five years Journey

Nasa’s Juno spacecraft has successfully completed a risky engine burn manoeuvre to enter Jupiter’s orbit.

The spacecraft is designed to provide a never before seen perspective on the interior of the gas giant and in doing so provide clues as to the formation of the early solar system.

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