The seemingly harmless visitors to your garden bird table have a more fearsome past than most of us realise. By analysing the detailed structure of proteins taken from fossils, scientists have confirmed the notion that our modern day feathered friends share a close ancestry with T. rex and co.
Other evidence has pointed to dinosaurs being closely related to birds, but this is the first time sophisticated molecular sequencing techniques have been used to confirm the idea. The researchers found that Tyrannosaurus rex is more closely related to chickens and ostriches than it is to the alligator or the anolis lizard.
Dr Chris Organ at Harvard University, part of the team that carried out the work, said that the study was proof that intact proteins from fossils could be used to understand the detailed relationships between extinct and living species.
“The idea that birds are a group of feathered flying dinosaurs is not controversial. But part of the advance here is just showing that it’s possible,” he said. “It has the potential to resolve parts of the evolutionary tree that are muddy, that we can’t resolve right now.”
Now, if they just get round to confirming my personal conviction that nutballs will eventually become an evolutionary dead end…
Thanks, K B, Mark
Cute headline. Of course, all birds are dinosaurs, maniraptors, in fact. More generally, they are therapods, as was T. Rex.
However, just to be anal, Tweetie is a fictional character. T. Rex was real.
This would not be an important statement if not for a large segment of the population who believe that dinosaurs are merely a scientific hoax.
This political comedian said it incredibly well. Click on the “Museum” routine. It’s really great!
http://www.briandykstra.net/jesusfactor.htm
my personal conviction nutballs will eventually become an evolutionary dead end…
Nutballs? Like Jeremiah Wright who sounds like a racist, conjuring up supposed physiological differences between blacks and whites where none exist in order to explain his latent hatred.
“Africans have a different meter, and Africans have a different tonality,” he said.
“Europeans have seven tones, Africans have five.”
“White people clap differently than black people.”
“Africans and African-Americans are right-brained, subject-oriented in their learning style,” he said. “They have a different way of learning.”
As Ed Morrisey said: Team Obama has to be beating its head against the wall today, wondering how can they keep Jeremiah Wright retired.
#1, That was funny.
#3, What does Obama have to do with it? He’s not a bird or dinosaur. Besides, the right’s crazy religionists say all sorts of wacky shit and then endorse Bush.
Why was the T-Rex angry all the time?
You would be angry too if you always had a sore ass. (Tyranno-sore-ass Rex)
Reminds me of the episode of the Coyote and the Road Runner, where RR suddenly grew into a huge monster (maybe like those big bird fossils they found in S. America), and W E Coyote became a small rat-sized creature. They did a great job depicting him trying to deal with the situation.
The funny bit, of course, is #3 identifying so personally with “nutballs”. Though that probably includes James Hill as well – in predictable denial.
YES!!! I Always was laughed at when i suggested the T-Rex was a giant chicken. Who’s laughing now!
#3, 4,
Why is this political for either of you? There’s no politics in this. Both right and left are filled with religious nut jobs.
There’s not a nontheist in the lot.
Obama’s a religious nut. Clinton is a particularly devout religious nut. McCain is obviously a religious nut.
Where’s an atheist?
The truth is atheists have no representation in our government. Want to talk about real discrimination? Try running for any significant level of government in this country as an atheist. I’m not even sure we have any at the grass roots level.
But, back on topic. All birds are dinosaurs, except possibly the fictional characters.
This has always been a question of mine: If you ate a T-Rex, would it taste like chicken?
YES!
#2–Scott==I looked for the Museum Piece and could not find it==even with word search.
Little help?
Its interesting to watch “in our lifetimes” how dinosaurs to birds has developed from hypothetical to established fact within the theory of evolution? Different fields of science independently confirming and being consistent with the observable. Intermediate species.
All that good stuff.
So birds evolved from dinosaurs… or at the very least share more in common with dinosaurs than reptiles do.
1990 called. It wants its fresh paleontological ideas back.
Why did the T-Rex cross the road?
i tawt i taw a taber tooth tiger!!!!
i did!!! i did see a taber tooth tiger!!!!
old news – unless you’re ben stein i guess
#15–andy==yea, Ben Stein was on Glen Beck today showing I think a clip from his movie. It showed Richard Dawkins saying it could be possible to see the hand of an intelligent designer in the first cell. Ben and Glen then made much of how narrow minded Dawkins was not to then admit the possibility that god was that intelligent designer.
I don’t have words to describe how stupid that notion is.
#16, bobbo
If you think Stein and Beck are stupid, who is watching them?
Newsflash everyone. Modern birds are not descended from T. Rex. They may be related and share a distant relative, but birds did not evolve from them. The same as humans didn’t evolve from chimps.
In short, one branch went one way and another branch went another.
#17–Gawd==in general, talking heads are watched by people who agree with them. For me, it is opposition research. I enjoy hearing what I disagree with as I already know what I agree with. But, the occassional argument that better supports what I already think is greatly welcomed.
I love hearing how close together Glenn Beck can be hypocritical. Often in occurs in the same sentence.
“I don’t want to talk about politics, when Pelosi says she want’s to tax the rich, isn’t that destroying America?”
TV doesn’t get funnier than that.
#10 – bobbo,
On that page, when I scroll about 2/3 of the way down, I see a video playing. Next to the video are choices of segments to watch. Click on Museum.
Let me know if that still doesn’t work for you.
#20–Scott==thanks. I turned off my script blocker and it appeared.
I must be in a bad mood. Nothing he said was funny.
Well–maybe in “Fuck Texas” “Couldn’t Lincoln have figured out a way to free the slaves and lose the war?”—yea, that was funny. Everything else was just a straight forward listing of issues and facts.=========smile!!!
#11
Yeah – god has always had a thing for asses.
#21 – bobbo,
Oh well. I guess our tastes are a bit different on humor. I loved the museum bit. Of course, the Creationist Museum is not quite as good as the Gravity Schmavity Museum …
http://tinyurl.com/6hantr
Oh, and the highlight of the Gravity Schmavity Museum is certain to be the exhibit on Intelligent Falling.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39512
#23-24==Coincidentally, I’m watching “The History of the Joke” right now on Tivo. I like that humor.
The Onion always strikes me as telling a good joke and then going on and on until its not funny anymore. Kinda like my posts.
I did like all three comments from the link in #23. Maybe I have a short attention span?
Keep the good stuff coming.