Earth and Environmental Sciences
A tiny bird that was smaller than your little finger and lived the briefest of lives has proven itself a giant of fossil history. The chick in the picture below may look like a character from a Disney remake of Walking With Dinosaurs, but this little chap has provided us with a valuable insight into […]
Fuxianhuiid – it may not be simple to say but these ancient arthropods have always seemed like pretty simple animals in all other respects. However, things aren’t always what they seem and the discovery of a new type of fuxianhuiid has provided a valuable insight into how predators evolved. A team of scientists including Dr […]
It’s the ultimate 90s movie mash-up – Arachnophobia meets Jurassic Park. And it’s happened in real life, right here at the University of Manchester. Imprisoned within a block of amber dating back to the Cretaceous period, a spider has been discovered that could provide an unparalleled insight into the evolution of everyone’s favourite creepy-crawly. And […]
The intelligence, culture and social relationships of whales and dolphins are so advanced, the only thing stopping them from building an underwater city is opposable thumbs. That’s the finding of the latest research from The University of Manchester, in collaboration with The London School of Economics (LSE) and Stanford University. The study, published this week […]
Ever wondered what was on the menu 200 million years ago? Well, if you like calamari, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover that not much has changed. New research by one of the leading experts in ichthyosaurs Dean Lomax has discovered the potential source of the newborn reptile’s diet: squid. What’s interesting is this isn’t […]
Tim Gregory and Tessa Naran share more in common than just their UoM background. They also both want to be astronauts and are currently appearing on our screens every Sunday at 9pm. The reason? They’re participants in the new BBC 2 show Astronauts: Do you have what it takes?. Beating off tough competition from 3,000 […]
When it comes to the nuclear power industry, you’ll always be playing the long game. So, when you’re considering its future, you need to think long-term. And one topic occupying the minds of people in the nuclear power industry right now is the future of its power source. Uranium, a silver-grey coloured heavy metal that […]
Congratulations! Your time machine works! You’ve travelled back more than 66 million years and arrived in the Cretaceous period. But, oh no! You’ve barely had chance to admire your surroundings before a thumping shakes the ground beneath you. Suddenly you notice a shadow lurking in the forest. A large shadow. And then a Tyrannosaurus Rex […]
We’ve all seen the film(s); dinosaurs running free in a safari park where you can literally step back in time, until it all goes horribly wrong and you find yourself cowering under the kitchen sink as velociraptors prowl past. You’d think they’d learn after four (soon-to-be five) films that dinosaurs in the modern age just isn’t […]