Download
1 / 3
E N D
Scientists have released information on a newly identified, freakish, bird-like species of dinosaur that has been discovered in North and South Dakota. Officially, the new species is named Anzu wyliei and is a member of a group of dinosours called oviraptorosaurs. It is the biggest species in this group ever found in North America. Unofficially, scientists have given the Anzu the nickname “Chicken From Hell” due to its strange appearance and the type of rock formation that it was found in—the Hell Creek Formation. Although not closely related to a chicken, scientists describe the dinosaur in offical reports as looking like “a cross between a chicken and a lizard.” It had a beak, no teeth, and had a bony crest atop its head that resembles half of a dinner plate turned vertically. It also had extremely sharp claws, muscular arms, lanky legs, a thin tail, and feathers sprouting all over the place. The strange animal lived at the end of the Cretaceous period between 66 and 68 million years ago. Three separate specimen of the Anzu have been found in all, each over a decade ago. It has taken this long for scientists to figure out how the seperated pieces of bone fit together.
In Other News • Two people have matched all six numbers drawn in the $414 million Mega Millions lottery on Tuesday night. One winner bought a ticket in a Florida convenience store, and the other in a Maryland liquor store. The Maryland winner has not yet come forward, but has 182 days to do so. The jackpot has a cash payout option of $230.9 million, with each person taking home about $76.4 million after taxes. The owner of both stores where the winning tickets were sold will receive a $100,000 commission. • The search for the missing airplane from Malaysia continues, but with new leads. Australia’s prime minister announced today that two objects that may be related to the missing passanger jet has been spotted in the southern Indian Ocean through satellite images. Although images have been falsely identified as airplane debris in satellite images earlier in the investigation by Chinese officials, this possibility looks much more credible. Officials from several different countries are now scouring the much smaller area west of Australia’s coast for the object seen in the images. • New research indicates that missing sleep may cause brain damage. The results of testing on laboratory mice reveal that long-term sleep deprivation saps the brain of power even after days of recovery sleep, says University of Pennsylvania medical students. And that could be a sign of lasting brain injury. This changes the theory that “power naps” can reverse the damage from sleep loss.
