The hot question of whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded like birds and mammals or cold blooded like reptiles, fish and amphibians finally has a good answer. Dinosaurs were in fact somewhere in between.
The study, published in the journal Science, assessed 21 species of dinosaurs including super predators Tyrannosaurus and Allosaurus, long-necked Apatosaurus, duckbilled Tenontosaurus and bird-like Troodon as well as a range of mammals, birds, bony fish, sharks, lizards, snakes and crocodiles.
“Our results showed that dinosaurs had growth and metabolic rates that were actually not characteristic of warm-blooded or even cold-blooded organisms. They did not act like mammals or birds nor did they act like reptiles or fish,” said University of Arizona evolutionary biologist and ecologist Brian Enquist.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透社
“Instead, they had growth rates and metabolisms intermediate to warm-blooded and cold-blooded organisms of today. In short, they had physiologies that are not common in today’s world.”
University of New Mexico biologist John Grady said the idea that creatures must be either warm-blooded or cold-blooded is too simplistic when looking over the vast expanse of time. Like dinosaurs, some animals alive today like the great white shark, leatherback sea turtle and tuna do not fit easily into either category, Grady added.
(Reuters)
恐龍是否像鳥或哺乳類是溫血的,還是像爬蟲類、魚與兩棲類是冷血的熱門問題,最終有了好答案。事實上,恐龍是介於兩者之間。
這項發表在《科學》期刊的研究,評估包括超級掠食者暴龍和異特龍、長頸的雷龍、禽龍類的腱龍以及類似鳥的鋸齒龍等二十一種恐龍,以及一系列哺乳類、鳥類、硬骨魚、鯊魚、蜥蜴、蛇類與鱷魚。
「我們的結果顯示,恐龍的成長與代謝率實際上非屬典型的溫血或甚至冷血生物。牠們的運作不像哺乳類或鳥類,也不像爬蟲類或魚類。」亞歷桑納大學演化生物學家與生態學家恩奎斯特說。
「他們反而具有介於現今溫血與冷血生物的成長率與新陳代謝。簡言之,他們的生理機能在當今世界並不常見。」
新墨西哥大學生物學家葛雷迪表示,當檢視浩瀚的時間時,恐龍一定不是溫血就是冷血的觀點過於簡單。如同恐龍,現存的一些動物,如大白鯊、稜皮龜與鮪魚無法輕易的劃分為任一類別,葛雷迪補充說。
(路透/翻譯:魏國金)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110