​T-Rex, cold lips ● Isar, Space X’s European rival, is closer to its first launch ● Plants scream in pain, but we don’t hear them

T-Rex, cold lips

If you’ve been wondering what Tyrannosaurus Rex’s lips looked like, you don’t have to. Thanks to the joint efforts of an international group of paleontologists from Canada, the USA, Great Britain and China, we finally got an answer to this vital question.

Their study, published in the journal Science, sheds light on this mystery that has puzzled generations of experts. Although they did not have fossilized T-Rex lips, the aforementioned researchers reconstructed the slight features of the giant North American carnivorous dinosaur using a comparative analysis of its skulls and teeth, as well as the skulls and teeth of several species of iguanas, lizards, crocodiles and lizards. today, including hundreds of extinct species.

The bottom line is that the T-Rex has been misrepresented in Hollywood movies as if it were some sort of scientific argument, and it didn’t show any teeth at all, much to the horror of its victims. Rather, the T-rex had lips similar to those of modern lizards. The fact is that, unlike previous images with large teeth and lips that cannot cover them, the T-Rex did not smile with fangs at all. And the teeth weren’t that big, compared to his size.

This idea, with the mentioned ferocious grin of the carnivore, would lead to a terrible evolutionary disadvantage for the animal in question. With its teeth protected by its lips, the T-rex could have been much more efficient at hunting and could have torn much larger pieces of tissue from its victims without fear of being maimed.

That’s it, now you’ve calmed down. The T-Rex wasn’t Angelina Jolie either, but it didn’t look as ferocious as the producers of the Jurassic Park show showed us either.

Isar, Space X’s European competitor, is nearing its first launch

Munich-based Isar Aerospace, founded in 2018, has raised at least 155 million euros in recent months to help the German startup carry out the first space launch of its Spectrum rocket, which is scheduled to launch on the second day. half of this year, Reuters reports.

Among the financiers, along with the companies HC Capital, Airbus Ventures, Lakestar and Earlybird, there is also the company Porsche SE, which in 2021 acquired part of the shares of Isar.

With this new round of funding, Isar Aerostar’s capital has almost doubled and now stands at $310 million. With this injection of capital, the German company is moving closer to the launch of the Spectrum rocket, a rocket that will carry small and medium-sized satellites into space.

Isar Aerospace officials say that the first flight of the Spectrum rocket is more than six months away, so the order list is already full. They decided to launch from a base in Norway, although they had first received permission from France to use their base in French Guiana.

Plants scream in pain, but we do not hear them

I’m sure you’ve heard this hypothesis before, it’s not exactly something, only this time the tests were more than convincing and proved the fact that, yes, plants make sounds when they are injured. The problem is that we don’t hear them.

A study published in the journal Cell by several biologists at Tel Aviv University, Israel, claims that we can move from the stage of hypothesis to the stage of a tested theory when we talk about the “screams” of pain in plants.

The researchers first selected tobacco and tomato plants, which were placed in a soundproof chamber, where all possible sounds and noises they could make were recorded. The test was later repeated with several species of cacti, corn, grapes, wheat and safflower.

In absolutely all cases, plants that felt discomfort (they stopped being watered or their leaves were cut), depending on the species, emitted ultrasonic frequencies of up to 40 clicks per hour, sounds that were perceived at a distance of up to one meter. Now you may be wondering why they developed this skill so that no one could hear them.

Plants have a well-established symbiosis with insects that has lasted over 400 million years. One cannot exist without the other. And insects have the ability to hear plants. Humans simply appeared too late for the plants to hear their biggest predator.

The mode and mechanisms that lead to the emission of these sounds at the appropriate frequencies have not yet been established. But that they exist is certain, and their role was probably to signal both surrounding plants and insects that the plant was under attack and needed help, for example against pests. In fact, this is the second particularly interesting step that the researchers have in mind. To find out who is listening to the messages the plants are sending.

Follow our Facebook page, HotNews Science, to be able to receive live information and curiosities from the world of science in real time!

Photo source: profimedimages.ro