Latest news with #UniversityOfCalgary
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Newly Discovered Tyrannosaur Relative "Prince of Dragons" Set T. rex Up to Rule
This summer's biggest movie, Jurassic World Rebirth (opening July 2, get tickets now!) picks up five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion (now streaming on Peacock!). The dinosaurs are on the loose, having reclaimed a place in the global ecosystem, but they're struggling to survive on a planet that has changed dramatically in the last 66 million years or so. While many have died out, some have found limited success in small suitable environments around the world. Zora Bennet (Scarlett Johansson) takes a team into a secret island research facility on Ile Sant-Hubert to recover genetic materials from the largest remaining species. It's believed that the samples are the key to breakthrough medical advances. Along the way, they discover some previously unknown species including a mutant Tyrannosaur known as Distortus rex. Here in the real world, we're stilling finding new dinos, albeit far less alive. Recently, paleontologists unveiled the fossilized remains of a new dinosaur species, Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, the closest known relative of Tyrannosaurs like the infamous T. rex. The specimen was found in the lower Upper Cretaceous portion of the Bayanshiree Formation in southeastern Mongolia in the 1970s. From there, it went to Mongolia's Institute of Paleontology where it remained largely unexamined for the last 50 years. Paleontologists of the time identified it as Alectrosaurus, a previously known dinosaur from Asia. In 2023, research led by University of Calgary PhD student Jared Voris and UC researcher Dr. Darla Zelenitsky revealed features which set it apart from its predatory peers. The results of that study were recently published in the journal Nature. It dates to about 86 million years ago, a time when earlier large predators had recently gone extinct and niches were available for evolution to fill. Khankhuuluu was a medium-sized predator which answered the call. It was only about one-third or one-half the size of a fully grown T. rex, but it laid the foundation for its larger and more famous descendants. 'This new species provides us the window into the ascent stage of Tyrannosaur evolution; right when they're transitioning from small predators to their apex predator form," Voris said in a statement. Perhaps Khankhuuluu's most notable features are a pair of tiny horns just over the eye sockets. Those horns would later evolve to be much more prominent in species like Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus. They were probably used to intimidate rivals and impress romantic interests. Long before that, however, Khankhuuluu made moves which would set up T. rex to rule prehistory. "Khankhuuluu, or a closely related species, would have immigrated to North America from Asia around 85 million years ago," explains Zelenitsky, a paleontologist and associate professor in the Department of Earth, Energy and Environment. "Our study provides solid evidence that large Tyrannosaurs first evolved in North America as a result of this immigration event." Twenty million years after Khankhuuluu first appeared, its descendants were dominating the Cretaceous landscape. At least until the asteroid closed the curtain on the age of dinosaurs. The dinosaurs are back in Jurassic World Rebirth, .
Sustainability Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Sustainability Times
'I Seen Predatory Horse With Razor Teeth': Scientists Unveil 86-Million-Year-Old T. Rex Ancestor That Redefines Dinosaur Evolution
IN A NUTSHELL 🦖 Khankhuuluu mongoliensis is an 86-million-year-old dinosaur species discovered in Mongolia, providing new insights into tyrannosaur evolution. is an 86-million-year-old dinosaur species discovered in Mongolia, providing new insights into tyrannosaur evolution. 📜 The fossils fill a crucial gap in the evolutionary timeline, linking smaller ancestors to the giant Tyrannosaurus rex . . 🐎 This medium-sized predator, roughly the size of a horse, relied on speed and agility rather than bone-crunching power. 🔍 The study, led by researchers at the University of Calgary, highlights the dynamic evolution of tyrannosaurs over millions of years. In a remarkable discovery, paleontologists have unearthed a new piece in the evolutionary puzzle of the Tyrannosaurus rex. A recent study has brought to light a medium-sized predator that roamed the Earth 86 million years ago, offering fresh insights into the lineage of these iconic dinosaurs. This creature, identified from fossils found in Mongolia, fills a crucial gap in our understanding of how the mighty T. rex evolved from its smaller ancestors. The species, named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, or 'the dragon prince,' provides a fascinating glimpse into the past, allowing us to trace the fascinating journey from small predators to the apex predators we know today. The Discovery of Khankhuuluu Mongoliensis The discovery of Khankhuuluu mongoliensis marks a significant milestone in paleontological research. Originally unearthed in the 1970s in the Bayanshiree Formation of southeastern Mongolia, these fossils were initially misclassified. It wasn't until researchers Jared Voris and Dr. Darla Zelenitsky from the University of Calgary revisited the site in 2023 that the true nature of these fossils was uncovered. The team noted the distinctive features of the remains, particularly the hollow snout bone, which pointed clearly to an early member of the tyrannosaur family. This species, roughly the size of a horse, weighed around 1,653 pounds and measured 13 feet in length. Its discovery provides a new understanding of the evolutionary sequence leading to the Tyrant Lizard King, the T. rex. The name Khankhuuluu, translating to 'the dragon prince,' is a nod to its role as a precursor to one of the most iconic predators in history. This Prehistoric Armored Fish From 465 Million Years Ago Could Be the Key to Understanding Why Our Teeth Still Hurt The Missing Evolutionary Gap For years, the evolutionary path of tyrannosaurs from small creatures to the colossal T. rex remained a mystery, with significant gaps in the fossil record. These dinosaurs began their journey around 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period as modest-sized tyrannosaurids. It was only in the late Cretaceous period that they grew into the giants we are familiar with today. The newly identified fossils of Khankhuuluu mongoliensis are crucial in filling this gap. They offer a rare glimpse into a transitional phase, illustrating how these dinosaurs evolved from smaller predators to become the dominant force in their ecosystems. The discovery of these fossils not only enhances our understanding of tyrannosaur evolution but also highlights the dynamic changes that occurred during their ascent to dominance. '8,000 Dinosaur Bones Found': Canada's Fossil Graveyard Reveals One of the Most Terrifying Prehistoric Mass Death Sites Ever Unearthed Physical Characteristics and Lifestyle Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, with its lean build and significant size, was an adept hunter. Unlike its massive descendants, this species had a long, shallow skull, indicating it lacked the ability to crunch bones like the T. rex. Instead, it relied on speed and agility, similar to modern-day mesopredators like coyotes, to hunt and capture prey. The presence of tiny, rudimentary horns on its head suggests that these features might have played a role in mating rituals or intimidation displays. Over time, these features evolved into the more prominent horns seen in later tyrannosaurs such as Albertosaurus. The creature's unique combination of features underscores the diversity and adaptability of the tyrannosaur lineage, providing a deeper understanding of the evolutionary pressures that shaped these formidable predators. 'This Thing Shouldn't Exist': Scientists Stunned as Humanity Witnesses This Deep-Sea Monster Alive for the First Time Ever Implications for Tyrannosaur Research The discovery of Khankhuuluu mongoliensis has profound implications for the study of tyrannosaurs. By bridging a critical gap in the fossil record, it allows scientists to trace the evolutionary trajectory of these dinosaurs with greater accuracy. This newfound knowledge not only enriches our understanding of tyrannosaur evolution but also offers broader insights into the ecological dynamics of prehistoric times. Researchers continue to study the fossils to uncover more about the lifestyle and environment of this fascinating creature. The ongoing analysis of its physical characteristics and the ecological context in which it lived promises to shed light on the evolutionary adaptations that enabled tyrannosaurs to thrive and diversify into some of the largest land predators in history. The discovery of Khankhuuluu mongoliensis opens new avenues for research and invites us to ponder the incredible journey of evolution. As we continue to uncover the mysteries of these ancient creatures, what other secrets might the past hold about the rise of the world's most fearsome predators? Our author used artificial intelligence to enhance this article. Did you like it? 4.5/5 (21)
CTV News
3 days ago
- Science
- CTV News
Satellite built by Calgary students expected to launch into space this fall
Some students at the University of Calgary are using their free time to create a satellite that's scheduled to launch into the upper atmosphere this year. 'It's such a neat experience to get to work on her hands-on team like this, actually creating something that gets to go to space,' said U of C student Meagan Davies. Students started the Calgary To Space team in 2020, and are doing final testing on FrontierSat (also known as CubeSat) before it boards a SpaceX Falcon9 in the fall. '[We're] preparing it to do vibration testing, so we want to see that it can withstand the conditions of being in rocket as they launch it to space,' Davies said. The satellite is roughly the size of a loaf of bread and will orbit about 500 kilometres above earth, taking images, collecting data and testing a boom – a little arm that unrolls like a party blower. '[We'll] see how the boom unfurls and also get some pretty cool pictures of the boom with Earth in the background,' said U of C student Aarti Chandiramani. Imaging of the ionosphere could provide insight about a recently discovered phenomenon known as the Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE). STEVE creates purple and green ribbons of light in the night sky, similar to the aurora borealis. FrontierSat Johnathan Burchill, Aarti Chandiramani and Meagan Davies. 'We have instrumentation on FrontierSat to study the plasma space environment, to measure how it moves, so in a way it's kind of like a high-tech windsock,' said Johnathan Burchill, an assistant professor of transdisciplinary space science and aerospace technology with the department of physics and astronomy Burchill is planning to do a research paper with data collected by the students' satellite. 'I'm very excited to see our satellite be a part of a research paper,' said U of C student Yuki Zhou. 'I'm very excited to see it's going to be actually published to the public and shared to the other researchers.' The Calgary To Space team says its project will be the first satellite built by Calgary students to launch into space. 'This is the first one for Calgary, so we're really excited to start that trend and get Calgary a little access point to space,' Chandiramani said. FrontierSat Aarti Chandiramani, Meagan Davies and Yuki Zhou. The approximately 100 students involved (most of them undergraduates from Schulich School of Engineering and the Faculty of Science) spend a lot of time working on the project outside pf class; some even work full-time on FrontierSat in-between semesters. Building a device to send data from space is only part of the challenge. The students also had to raise about $200,000 and navigate federal and international regulations. 'Space is so expensive that generally a lot of people are cut out of it completely,' Chandiramani said. 'But as more and more teams stand-up and we commercialize space a little bit more, projects like CubeSat become a lot more feasible, which means that students like us get lucky opportunities to send something space.' Final details are still being determined by SpaceX, but some of the students are planning to watch their creation launch in-person. 'If I have the opportunity to go to the US and see the actual launch, it's going be very exciting,' said Zhou.
CBC
12-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Alberta's measles outbreaks are now the worst in nearly half a century
Alberta's measles surge is so dramatic, the last time case counts were higher Calgary did not have an NHL team, O Canada was not yet the official national anthem and gasoline would set you back 24 cents a litre. The province reported 29 more cases on Thursday, bringing the total since the outbreaks began in March to 868. That pushes the province past the levels seen during a surge in 1986, when 854 cases were reported. A higher case count hasn't been recorded since 1979. "It's a little shocking. The numbers we're looking at now today really haven't been seen in Alberta since the 1970s," said Craig Jenne, a professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary. "[We're] really going back to an era where the vaccine program really was just getting started. We're going back to, really, pre-vaccination times here in Alberta," he said. While there had been earlier versions of a measles vaccine, Alberta launched its routine immunization program for a single dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine in 1982. According to the Public Agency of Canada, the rollout of the single MMR dose took place across the country between 1974 and 1983. Two doses of the vaccine became routine between 1996 and 1997. "By the time we got into the early 1980s, for the most part most children in Canada were vaccinated and measles became a thing largely of the past," said Jenne, who's also the deputy director of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. "There were years with significant outbreaks, including 1986, but as the numbers reveal today we've eclipsed even those outbreaks. So we really have thrown the province back into a situation where we're looking much like Canada did before we had open access to measles vaccines." According to the Alberta government, the highest recorded measles case count was in 1957, when 12,337 cases were reported. Health officials are cautioning that this year's official case count is just the "tip of the iceberg" and that there are cases in the province going unreported and undetected. The south, central and north zones continue to be the hardest hit. A standing measles advisory remains in effect for southern Alberta due to widespread transmission. "Unfortunately we've seen this threshold coming now for several weeks when we had seen the establishment of community level transmission, where vaccine rates simply aren't high enough to stop community spread," said Jenne. As of June 7, a total of 75 Albertans had been hospitalized due to measles since the outbreaks began, including 12 people who ended up in intensive care. The vast majority of cases have been among the unimmunized, according to provincial data. Alberta is offering an early and extra measles vaccine dose to babies as young as six months old who are living in the south, central and north zones. Measles can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain inflammation, premature delivery and death. Children under the age of five, pregnant Albertans and those with weakened immune systems are the most vulnerable. Measles symptoms include: High fever. Cough. Runny nose. Red eyes. A blotchy, red rash that appears three to seven days after the fever starts. In darker skin colours, it may appear purple or darker than surrounding skin. Alberta Health provides detailed information on measles case counts, symptoms and free immunizations here. A measles hotline is available for people with questions about symptoms, immunization records or to book an appointment: 1-844-944-3434. AHS is advising anyone with measles symptoms to stay home and call the hotline before visiting any hospital, medical clinic or pharmacy.
CNN
12-06-2025
- Science
- CNN
‘Dragon prince' dinosaur discovery is changing how scientists understand T. rex
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. CNN — Scientists have identified a previously unknown 86 million-year-old dinosaur species that fills an early gap in the fossil record of tyrannosaurs, revealing how they evolved to become massive apex predators. Researchers analyzing the species' remains have named it Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, which translates to 'dragon prince of Mongolia,' because it was small compared with its much larger relatives such as Tyrannosaurus rex, whose name means 'the tyrant lizard king.' The newly identified dinosaur was the closest known ancestor of tyrannosaurs and likely served as a transitional species from earlier tyrannosauroid species, according to the findings published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Based on a reexamination of two partial skeletons uncovered in Mongolia's Gobi Desert in 1972 and 1973, the new study suggests that three big migrations between Asia and North America led tyrannosauroids to diversify and eventually reach a gargantuan size in the late Cretaceous Period before going extinct 66 million years ago. 'This discovery of Khankhuuluu forced us to look at the tyrannosaur family tree in a very different light,' said study coauthor Darla Zelenitsky, associate professor within the department of Earth, energy, and environment at the University of Calgary, in an email. 'Before this, there was a lot of confusion about who was related to who when it came to tyrannosaur species. What started as the discovery of a new species ended up with us rewriting the family history of tyrannosaurs.' Multiple migrations over millions of years Tyrannosaurs, known scientifically as Eutyrannosaurians, bring to mind hulking dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex and Tarbosaurus, which weighed multiple metric tons and could take down equally large prey. With short arms and massive heads, they walked on two legs and boasted sharp teeth, Zelenitsky said. But tyrannosaurs didn't start out that way. They evolved from smaller dinosaurs before dominating the landscapes of North America and Asia between 85 million and 66 million years ago, the researchers said. While Tarbosaurus, an ancestor of T. rex, clocked in at between 3,000 and 6,000 kilograms (6,613 pounds and 13,227 pounds), the fleet-footed Khankhuuluu mongoliensis likely weighed only around 750 kilograms (1,653 pounds), spanned just 2 meters (6.5 feet) at the hips and 4 meters (13 feet) in length, according to the study authors. Comparing the two dinosaurs would be like putting a horse next to an elephant —Khankhuuluu would have reached T. rex's thigh in height, Zelenitsky said. 'Khankhuuluu was almost a tyrannosaur, but not quite,' Zelenitsky said. 'The snout bone was hollow rather than solid, and the bones around the eye didn't have all the horns and bumps seen in T. rex or other tyrannosaurs.' Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, or a closely related ancestor species, likely migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge between Alaska and Siberia that connected the continents 85 million years ago, Zelenitsky said. Because of this migrant species, we now know that tyrannosaurs actually evolved first on the North American continent and remained there exclusively over the next several million years, she said. 'As the many tyrannosaur species evolved on the continent, they became larger and larger.' Due to the poor fossil record, it's unclear what transpired in Asia between 80 million to 85 million years ago, she added. While some Khankhuuluu may have remained in Asia, they were likely replaced later on by larger tyrannosaurs 79 million years ago. Meanwhile, another tyrannosaur species crossed the land bridge back to Asia 78 million years ago, resulting in the evolution of two related but very different subgroups of tyrannosaurs, Zelenitsky said. One was a gigantic, deep-snouted species, while the other known as Alioramins was slender and small. These smaller dinosaurs have been dubbed 'Pinocchio rexes' for their long, shallow snouts. Both types of tyrannosaurs were able to live in Asia and not compete with each other because the larger dinosaurs were top predators, while Alioramins were mid-level predators going after smaller prey — think cheetahs or jackals in African ecosystems today, Zelenitsky said. 'Because of their small size, Alioramins were long thought to be primitive tyrannosaurs, but we novelly show Alioramins uniquely evolved smallness as they had 'miniaturized' their bodies within a part of the tyrannosaur family tree that were all otherwise giants,' Zelenitsky said. One more migration happened as tyrannosaurs continued to evolve, and a gigantic tyrannosaur species crossed back into North America 68 million years ago, resulting in Tyrannosaurus rex, Zelenitsky said. 'The success and diversity of tyrannosaurs is thanks to a few migrations between the two continents, starting with Khankhuuluu,' she said. 'Tyrannosaurs were in the right place at the right time. They were able to take advantage of moving between continents, likely encountering open niche spaces, and quickly evolving to become large, efficient killing machines.' Revisiting a decades-old find The new findings support previous research suggesting that Tyrannosaurus rex's direct ancestor originated in Asia and migrated to North America via a land bridge and underscore the importance of Asia in the evolutionary success of the tyrannosaur family, said Cassius Morrison, a doctoral student of paleontology at University College London. Morrison was not involved in the new research. 'The new species provides essential data and information in part of the family tree with few species, helping us to understand the evolutionary transition of tyrannosaurs from small/ medium predators to large apex predators,' Morrison wrote in an email. The study also shows that the Alioramini group, once considered distant relatives, were very close cousins of T. rex. What makes the fossils of the new species so crucial is their age — 20 million years older than T. rex, said Steve Brusatte, professor and personal chair of Palaeontology and Evolution at the University of Edinburgh. Brusatte was not involved in the new study. 'There are so few fossils from this time, and that is why these scientists describe it as 'murky,'' Brusatte said. 'It has been a frustrating gap in the record, like if you suspected something really important happened in your family history at a certain time, like a marriage that started a new branch of the family or immigration to a new country, but you had no records to document it. The tyrannosaur family tree was shaped by migration, just like so many of our human families.' With only fragments of fossils available, it's been difficult to understand the variation of tyrannosaurs as they evolved, said Thomas Carr, associate professor of biology at Carthage College in Wisconsin and director of the Carthage Institute of Paleontology. Carr was not involved in the new research. But the new study sheds light on the dinosaurs' diversity and clarifies which ones existed when — and how they overlapped with one another, he said. More samples from the fossil record will provide additional clarity, but the new work illustrates the importance of reexamining fossils collected earlier. 'We know so much more about tyrannosaurs now,' Carr said. 'A lot of these historical specimens are definitely worth their weight in gold for a second look.' When the fossils were collected half a century ago, they were only briefly described at the time, Brusatte said. 'So many of us in the paleontology community knew that these Mongolian fossils were lurking in museum drawers, waiting to be studied properly, and apt to tell their own important part of the tyrannosaur story,' he said. 'It's almost like there was a non-disclosure agreement surrounding these fossils, and it's now expired, and they can come out and tell their story.'
