SCIENCE

Blog Carnival #18: Resurrected Dinosaurs, Nostalgia for Kool-Aid and More From ArtEvolved

Digital Editorial Director

April 1, 2010

Back From the Dead: Catalogue of Organisms asks readers, “if you could bring any organism back from extinction, what would you choose and why?” (One commenter suggests “Utahraptor, for human population control.”)

Just Another Day at the Office: “Some things that are commonplace in the world of palaeo would probably be considered really quite odd by anyone else, even those within the sciences,” observes David Hone at Archosaur Musings, who posts some photos to demonstrate his point. For instance, how often do you see a tool rack supporting a hadrosaur vertebral column?

Challenging Science: Whirlpool of Life ponders the growing tendency of creationists to participate in the climate change debate: “By creating (fictitious) debates among biologists and climate scientists over the veracity of evolution and global warming, respectively, it might be possible to foment doubts in the general public and legislate for more ‘critical thinking’ in schools. Astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University argues that this strategy may involve even grander aims, ‘casting doubt on the veracity of science—to say that it is just one view of the world, just another story.’”

Paleozoic Olympics: Walcott’s Quarry salutes the Olympic Games, bringing a new perspective to “survival of the fittest.”

Purple Passion: Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs thirsts for the now-extinct Kool-Aid flavor, “Purplesaurus Rex.” (Apparently, others share this passion.) So, what is it about purple and dinosaurs? Barney, Dino from the Flintstones, etc. Possible dissertation topic here?

Comic Relief: Be sure to check out the new collection of artist interpretations of Therizinosaurs at ArtEvolved. Fans of the X-Men comic books will especially appreciate “Therizinosaurine!”

Paper Trail: At Tetrapod Zoology, Darren Naish makes his case for the usefulness of “dead tree literature” over PDF libraries. (“I blame the few billion years my ancestors spent in three-dimensional space for all this.”)