The group called dinosaurs includes all the animals that evolved from the very first dinosaur, the common ancestor. Because the fossil record is incomplete, we have not found fossils of this common ancestor; however, based on the characteristics we see in all dinosaurs, we can determine new and unique characteristics it possessed.
A key evolutionary innovation of dinosaurs is that they walk with a fully erect posture, holding their hind legs vertically under their hips. The top of the thighbone (or femur) has a knob or head that sticks out to the side of the rest of the bone and fits into the hip socket (or acetabulum) in the pelvis. The hip socket has a hole in the center, as well as a rim of bone along the upper margin, which helps support the weight of the body on the leg. Since these features are present in all known dinosaurs, we deduce that they first evolved in the common ancestor.
In popular culture, many other kinds of animals, which don’t have this fully developed hip and leg structure, are often incorrectly called dinosaurs. Some examples include Mesozoic marine reptiles, such as plesiosaurs, mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs, as well as a group of Mesozoic flying reptiles called pterosaurs.
This video is part of a series, “Dinosaurs Explained,” produced by the American Museum of Natural History. In the series, Museum paleontologists answer the most frequently asked questions about dinosaurs.
Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time, with scientists finding the tiny particles in almost 80% of the people tested.
The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health is as yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.
The scientists analysed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all healthy adults and found plastic particles in 17. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drinks bottles, while a third contained polystyrene, used for packaging food and other products. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made.
“Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood – it’s a breakthrough result,” said Prof Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. “But we have to extend the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers assessed, etc.” Further studies by a number of groups are already under way, he said.
The only platform a nazi deserves is a gibbet, but here’s the BBC’s
Quentin Sommerville somehow failing to notice a goddamn SS Totenkopf
patch on one of the militiamen he’s following around like an adoring
puppy.
The other militiaman has a “THOR MIT UNS” patch, which is 100% a
bullshit nazi cultural appropriation of Norse pagan religious
iconography when it’s being worn by a dumb kid from the Black Sea area
standing next to a motherfucker with a Totenkopf on a bouché shield.
This segment also aired on BBC America. Feel free to leave a comment for
them explaining why they should be doing even the most basic vetting of
their interview subjects before credulously endorsing them.
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