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This article states, “Scientists knew that some small carnivores hunted in packs . . . .” That sounds quite subjective to me. Finding many small theropods together with a possible victim can have many interpretations. Vultures mass at a carcass, but would you say they are pack hunters? Russ AgreenDanton, Md. I can certainly understand […]
- Paleontology
Dinosaurs, party of six, meat eating
The bones of six carnivorous dinosaurs discovered in a fossil bed in Patagonia may indicate that big, meat-eating dinosaurs were social creatures.
- Paleontology
Fossil gets a leg up on snake family tree
A 95-million-year-old fossil snake with legs may be an advanced big-mouthed snake, not a primitive ancestor.
- Math
Random packing of spheres
A new definition of random packing allows a more consistent and mathematically precise approach to characterizing disordered arrangements of identical spheres.
- Math
Orbiting in a figure-eight loop
Three gravitationally interacting bodies of equal mass can, according to precise calculations, trace out a figure-eight-shape orbit in space.
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Fading to black doesn’t empower fish
Field studies of three-spined stickleback fish dash a textbook example of the theory of how one species can take on a competitor's characteristics.
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Hey, we’re richer than we thought!
The latest inventory of life in the United States has turned up an extra 100,000 species of plants, animals, and fungi.
- Earth
Titanic iceberg sets sail from Antarctica
An iceberg about the size of Connecticut recently split off from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
- Planetary Science
Reviewers see red over recent Mars programs
NASA's two most recent missions to Mars failed because they were underfunded, managed by inexperienced people, and insufficiently tested, according to a report released March 28.
- Health & Medicine
Cell mixture attacks pancreas tumors
White blood cells injected into patients with pancreatic tumors incite an immune response that blunts the cancer in some patients and extends survival.
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Lady-killing genes offer pest control
Two new fruit fly lines—with females that die on cue—could lead to changes in pest control.
- Math
Stepping Beyond Fibonacci Numbers
Trying variants of a simple mathematical rule that yields interesting results can lead to additional discoveries and curiosities. The numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and 55 belong to a famous sequence named for the Italian mathematician Fibonacci, who lived more than 700 years ago. Each consecutive number is the sum […]
