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Sunday, October 14, 2012

Velociraptor: Facts about the 'Speedy Thief'

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Representative genera of each tribe are shown to scale. Credit: Wikipedia/GNU (Phys.org)—An unusual collaboration between researchers in two disparate fields resulted in a new discovery about the teeth of 65-million-year-old dinosaurs. Ads by Google Dental Implant Warnings - What You Should Know Before Getting Dental Implants. Read Expert Advice - symptomfind.com/CosmeticDentalCare With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old. Ads by Google Living With Dentures - Live Better With False Teeth. Explore Denture Advice And Tips. - www.DentureLiving.com/NewDentures Erickson said reptilian dinosaurs have been dismissed as simplistic creatures in their feeding and dental structure. They were herbivores, their teeth composed of enamel and dentine. The fossil record did little to contradict that. Testing with nanoindenters and microtribometers, however, proved the conventional wisdom wrong. "Hadrosaurs' teeth were incredibly complicated, among the most complex of any animal," Sawyer said. "These dinosaurs had developed a lot of tricks." The duck-billed hadrosaur was a toothy creature with up to 1,400 teeth, Erickson said. The teeth migrated across the chewing surface, with sharp, enamel-edged front teeth moving sideways to become grinding teeth as the teeth matured. The adaptation allowed hadrosaurs to bite off chunks of bark and stems and chew them to a digestible mush, leading Erickson to describe them as "walking pulp mills." The teeth wore down at the rate of 1 millimeter per day, cycling through the jaw like a conveyor belt, before falling out or being swallowed. The dinosaurs lost about 1,800 teeth a year, leaving behind plenty of fossils for testing. When the fossils emerged from batteries of tests, the researchers found six tissues in the tooth structure, not two. "Modern tools told us there were different materials in there," said Sawyer, who is also a UF Research Foundation Professor and Distinguished Teaching Scholar. Erickson said the work could not have been accomplished without Sawyer's lab, "arguably the best tribological lab in the world," and said he is excited about the possibilities for new avenues of research. There are drawers full of fossils in collections around the world that may have more information to yield. Sawyer agrees, and says that more engineering data could well be buried in fossils. "Perhaps now it makes sense to take some of that fossil record, when we have other pieces of the record, and start to do things like sectioning and histology," Sawyer said. "There are opportunities now with modern scientific tools to probe their mechanical and tribological properties. If we treat a fossil as a modern material, what happens? Do the mechanical properties track?" The collaborative nature of the Florida university system was a key to getting the work done, Sawyer said, as was the funding his research gets from the University of Florida Foundation. "It took us five years to do this because it was always a side project and wasn't funded. We could chew on it at our own pace," Sawyer said. "This is exactly what you hope for when you endow research, that people will take those funds and do things that are scientifically significant." Journal reference: Science search and more info website Provided by University of Florida search and more info website print this article email this article 0 text-to-speech save as pdf send feedback share to facebook share to twitter share to linkedin share to google share view popular send feedback to editors 4.5 /5 (2 votes) 1 2 3 4 5 Please register or sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more Sign in with facebook connect Email Password Forgot your password? Click here to reset it. Notify me via email of follow-up comments posted here Rank 1 2 3 4 5 4.5 /5 (2 votes) Featured Last comments Popular Most shared Partners Physicists extend special relativity beyond the speed of light created Oct 08, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (55) | comments 132 Free program makes computer graphics more realistic created Oct 09, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (39) | comments 5 Voyager 1 may have left the solar system created Oct 09, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (33) | comments 17 Is it real? Physicists propose method to determine if the universe is a simulation created Oct 12, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (36) | comments 108 Mars rock touched by Curiosity has surprises created Oct 11, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (25) | comments 19 more news Related Stories created Oct 04, 2012 comments 0 Fossilized teeth—Duck-bill dinosaurs had plant-pulverizing teeth more advanced than horses created Jul 13, 2011 comments 0 Stem cells grow fully functional new teeth created Oct 31, 2011 comments 0 'Ay, there's the rub': Researchers strive to identify the atomic origins of wear created Feb 28, 2012 comments 0 T. Rex's killer smile revealed Tags late cretaceous period, dinosaur teeth, 65 million years, hadrosaur, new discovery, paleontologist, material properties, biomechanics, fossil, teeth, journal science Relevant PhysicsForums posts Darwinism: Where is the theory? createdOct 12, 2012 Amygdala help createdOct 11, 2012 How much are we genetically pre-programmed createdOct 11, 2012 How did torsion evolve in snails? createdOct 09, 2012 Any contraindications of inhaling pure O2? createdOct 09, 2012 Western Blot Alternatives? createdOct 09, 2012 More from Physics Forums - Biology More news stories Science denied: Why does doubt persist? The sign in front of the tall display case at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History lures visitors to "meet one of your oldest relatives." Inside stands a morganucodon, a mouse-like animal ... Other Sciences / Other created Oct 12, 2012 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (17) | comments 77 Fossil of ancient spider attack only one of its type ever discovered (Phys.org)—Researchers have found what they say is the only fossil ever discovered of a spider attack on prey caught in its web – a 100 million-year-old snapshot of an engagement frozen in time. Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils created Oct 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (20) | comments 23 | with audio podcast What are the biggest challenges to global democracy? In the new fall issue of the World Policy Journal, the editors liken today's period of politics to an "electoral tsunami." With more of the world's population heading to the polls than ever before, this new issue of WPJ in ... Other Sciences / Social Sciences created Oct 10, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 13 Quantitative easing only benefits the financial sector, UK research finds (Phys.org)—A review of evidence into Quantitative Easing (QE) has shown that the Government's hope that it will pull the UK out of recession may be unfounded. Other Sciences / Economics & Business created Oct 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 11 Complex brains evolved much earlier than previously thought, 520-million-year-old fossilized arthropod confirms Complex brains evolved much earlier than previously thought, as evidenced by a 520-million year old fossilized arthropod with remarkably well-preserved brain structures. Representing the earliest specimen ... Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils created Oct 10, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (15) | comments 7 | with audio podcast Gene signature validated for oral cancer metastases (HealthDay)—A multigene signature effectively predicts the presence of lymph node metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (OSCC) and oropharynx (OPSCC), according to a study published online ... Methotrexate use linked to reduced mortality in RA (HealthDay)—Use of methotrexate for one year or more is associated with a reduction in the risk of mortality for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a study published online Oct. 8 in ... Austrian daredevil to make new space jump bid Sunday (Update) An Austrian daredevil is preparing to make a new attempt Sunday to jump from the edge of space, days after his initial bid was aborted at the last minute due to the weather. Chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood, study shows A new study in animals shows that chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood, a finding that researchers suggest could increase understanding of postpartum depression. Cardiovascular IED infections have distinct features, outcomes (HealthDay)—Cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) have distinct clinical features and outcomes, ... Sphere-templated tissue scaffold is a viable subcutaneous implant (HealthDay)—Compared with high-density porous polyethylene (HDPPE) implant materials, sphere-templated poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly[HEMA]) tissue scaffold stimulates a minimal inflammatory response; ... top Home Medical Xpress Search Help What's new About us Contact / FAQ Partners PhysOrg Account Sponsored Account Newsletter RSS feeds iPhone iPad Apps Blackberry App Android App&Widget Amazon Kindle PDA version Feature Stories Weblog & Reports Podcasts Archive Facebook Twitter © Phys.Org™ 2003-2012 Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
Family tree of the Hadrosauroidea. Representative genera of each tribe are shown to scale. Credit: Wikipedia/GNU (Phys.org)—An unusual collaboration between researchers in two disparate fields resulted in a new discovery about the teeth of 65-million-year-old dinosaurs.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
Family tree of the Hadrosauroidea. Representative genera of each tribe are shown to scale. Credit: Wikipedia/GNU (Phys.org)—An unusual collaboration between researchers in two disparate fields resulted in a new discovery about the teeth of 65-million-year-old dinosaurs.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp

From LiveScience: Velociraptor: Facts about the 'Speedy Thief'

Velociraptor — "raptor" for short — roamed the Earth about 75 million to 71 million years ago toward the end of the Cretaceous Period, which was the glory days of the dinosaurs.

Velociraptor was named in 1924 by Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the American Museum of Natural History. He bestowed the name on this dinosaur, which is derived from the Latin words "velox" (swift) and "raptor" (robber or plunderer), as an apt description of its survival tactics. Earlier that year, Osborn had called the dinosaur "Ovoraptor djadochtari" in an article in the popular press, but was later referred to as Velociraptor in scientific journals and papers.

Velociraptor is one of the most bird-like dinosaurs ever discovered. It was small and fast, and the sickle-shaped claw on the second toe of each foot made it a formidable predator. A special bone in its wrist allowed it to swivel its wrist sideways in a flapping motion and to fold its arm against its body like a bird. This motion allowed it to snap its arms forward to grab fleeing prey and is an important part of the flight stroke in modern birds.
CREDIT: Todd Marshall

There were two species of Velociraptors. Fossils of the V. mongoliensis species have been discovered in Mongolia. A second species, V. osmolskae, was named in 2008 for skull material discovered in Inner Mongolia, China.

A member of the dromaeosaurid family, Velociraptor was roughly the size of a small turkey and smaller than others in this family of dinosaurs, which included the Deinonychus and Achillobator. Adult Velociraptors were up to 6.8 feet (2 meters) long, 1.6 feet (0.5 meter) tall at the hip and weighed up to 33 pounds (15 kilograms).
Like Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor had a prominent role in the "Jurassic Park" movies, but scientists do not believe it resembled anything close to its Hollywood depiction in terms of size or appearance. While the Velociraptor was featherless in the movies, paleontologists discovered quill knobs on a well-preserved forearm from Mongolia in 2007, indicating Velociraptor had feathers. The feathers were just for show — most likely to attract a mate, regulate body temperature and help females protect their eggs — as Velociraptor did not fly.
Although many of its closely related ancestors could fly, Velociraptor is thought to have been grounded due to its weight in proportion to its short forelimbs. Scientists theorize that the short forelimbs could have been the evolutionary leftovers of what were once wings.
Although it shared many of the same physical characteristics with other dromaeosaurs, Velociraptor's distinguishing features included a long skull that was concave on the upper surface and convex on the lower. It also had a distinctive upturned snout.
Velociraptor's tail of hard, fused bones was inflexible and not useful as a weapon but it kept him balanced as he ran, hunted and jumped. Scientists estimate that a Velociraptor could jump as high as 10 feet (3 meters) straight in the air.
Velociraptor, like other dromaeosaurids, had two large hand-like appendages with three curved claws. The claws were used the same way as birds of prey use talons — as hooks to keep victims from escaping.
The jaws were lined with 26 to 28 widely spaced teeth on each side, each more strongly serrated on the back edge than the front, making them ideal for catching and securing quick-moving prey. A sickle-shaped retractable claw on each hindfoot was likely used to finish the job of killing its prey by piercing its throat.
The moniker of "speedy thief" is a bit misleading. The Velociraptor may have been able to run up to roughly 40 mph (60 kph) on its two skinny legs, but it could only sustain that speed for very short bursts.
What did Velociraptor eat?
A carnivore, it is believed that the Velociraptor survived on mostly small animals, such as reptiles, amphibians and other smaller, slower dinosaurs.
The horned dinosaur Protoceratops, a herbivore, was a favorite meal of the Velociraptor, according to paleontologists. It also preyed on other herbivore dinosaurs.
Fossil discoveries
The first Velociraptor fossil was discovered by Peter Kaisen on the first American Museum of Natural History expedition to the Outer Mongolian Gobi Desert in August 1923. The skull was crushed but complete and one of the toe claws was also recovered.
Velociraptor fossils have been found in the Gobi Desert, which covers southern Mongolia and parts of northern China. In all, about a dozen Velociraptor fossils exist and all known specimens of Velociraptor mongoliensis were discovered in the Djadochta Formation (also spelled Djadokhta), in the Mongolian province of Ömnögovi. [Image Gallery: Dinosaur Fossils]
While North American teams were not permitted in communist Mongolia during the Cold War, Soviet and Polish scientists collaborated with Mongolian scientists on expeditions that recovered several more Velociraptor specimens. On one of these expeditions in 1971, a Polish-Mongolian team discovered the fossils of a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops in the midst of battle. They were preserved by a sand dune that collapsed on them.
Between 1988 and 1990, a joint Chinese-Canadian team discovered Velociraptor remains in northern China. In 1990, a joint Mongolian-American expedition to the Gobi, led by the American Museum of Natural History and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, turned up several well-preserved skeletons.
— Kim Ann Zimmermann

 

 

Sign inRegister Account Profile Newsletter Favorites Activity Recent Activity Email notifications Display settings PM My news Add news filter Follow us Facebook Twitter Breaking news Health news Biology news Technology and Electronics Space news Physics and Nanotech Google Google toolbar button Google IG module Chrome extension Digg Newsletter RSS news feeds Latest news Spotlight news Feature and Editorials More Mobile Apps iPhone apps PhysOrg News Lite PhysOrg News Full Medical & Health News iPad apps PhysOrg News Lite PhysOrg News HD Android apps PhysOrg Science News Lite PhysOrg Science News Medical & Health News (free) Medical & Health News BlackBerry apps PhysOrg.com News Amazon Kindle Science and Research News Space and Earth News Physics and Nanotechnology Health and Medicine News Technology and Electronics Biology and Chemistry News Text-to-Speech Podcasts iTunes More Quick nav Feature stories Weblog & Reports Archive Video Podcasts Help Suggest a story idea Send feedback PhysOrg FAQ Sponsored account About us More Search advanced search Science and technology news Home Nanotechnology Physics Space & Earth Electronics Technology Chemistry Biology Medicine & Health Other Sciences Mathematics Archaeology & Fossils Other Social Sciences Economics & Business Researchers work across fields to uncover information about hadrosaur teeth October 11, 2012 by Cindy Spence Hadrosauroidea Enlarge Family tree of the Hadrosauroidea. Representative genera of each tribe are shown to scale. Credit: Wikipedia/GNU (Phys.org)—An unusual collaboration between researchers in two disparate fields resulted in a new discovery about the teeth of 65-million-year-old dinosaurs. Ads by Google Dental Implant Warnings - What You Should Know Before Getting Dental Implants. Read Expert Advice - symptomfind.com/CosmeticDentalCare With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old. Ads by Google Living With Dentures - Live Better With False Teeth. Explore Denture Advice And Tips. - www.DentureLiving.com/NewDentures Erickson said reptilian dinosaurs have been dismissed as simplistic creatures in their feeding and dental structure. They were herbivores, their teeth composed of enamel and dentine. The fossil record did little to contradict that. Testing with nanoindenters and microtribometers, however, proved the conventional wisdom wrong. "Hadrosaurs' teeth were incredibly complicated, among the most complex of any animal," Sawyer said. "These dinosaurs had developed a lot of tricks." The duck-billed hadrosaur was a toothy creature with up to 1,400 teeth, Erickson said. The teeth migrated across the chewing surface, with sharp, enamel-edged front teeth moving sideways to become grinding teeth as the teeth matured. The adaptation allowed hadrosaurs to bite off chunks of bark and stems and chew them to a digestible mush, leading Erickson to describe them as "walking pulp mills." The teeth wore down at the rate of 1 millimeter per day, cycling through the jaw like a conveyor belt, before falling out or being swallowed. The dinosaurs lost about 1,800 teeth a year, leaving behind plenty of fossils for testing. When the fossils emerged from batteries of tests, the researchers found six tissues in the tooth structure, not two. "Modern tools told us there were different materials in there," said Sawyer, who is also a UF Research Foundation Professor and Distinguished Teaching Scholar. Erickson said the work could not have been accomplished without Sawyer's lab, "arguably the best tribological lab in the world," and said he is excited about the possibilities for new avenues of research. There are drawers full of fossils in collections around the world that may have more information to yield. Sawyer agrees, and says that more engineering data could well be buried in fossils. "Perhaps now it makes sense to take some of that fossil record, when we have other pieces of the record, and start to do things like sectioning and histology," Sawyer said. "There are opportunities now with modern scientific tools to probe their mechanical and tribological properties. If we treat a fossil as a modern material, what happens? Do the mechanical properties track?" The collaborative nature of the Florida university system was a key to getting the work done, Sawyer said, as was the funding his research gets from the University of Florida Foundation. "It took us five years to do this because it was always a side project and wasn't funded. We could chew on it at our own pace," Sawyer said. "This is exactly what you hope for when you endow research, that people will take those funds and do things that are scientifically significant." Journal reference: Science search and more info website Provided by University of Florida search and more info website print this article email this article 0 text-to-speech save as pdf send feedback share to facebook share to twitter share to linkedin share to google share view popular send feedback to editors 4.5 /5 (2 votes) 1 2 3 4 5 Please register or sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more Sign in with facebook connect Email Password Forgot your password? Click here to reset it. Notify me via email of follow-up comments posted here Rank 1 2 3 4 5 4.5 /5 (2 votes) Featured Last comments Popular Most shared Partners Physicists extend special relativity beyond the speed of light created Oct 08, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (55) | comments 132 Free program makes computer graphics more realistic created Oct 09, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (39) | comments 5 Voyager 1 may have left the solar system created Oct 09, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (33) | comments 17 Is it real? Physicists propose method to determine if the universe is a simulation created Oct 12, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (36) | comments 108 Mars rock touched by Curiosity has surprises created Oct 11, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (25) | comments 19 more news Related Stories created Oct 04, 2012 comments 0 Fossilized teeth—Duck-bill dinosaurs had plant-pulverizing teeth more advanced than horses created Jul 13, 2011 comments 0 Stem cells grow fully functional new teeth created Oct 31, 2011 comments 0 'Ay, there's the rub': Researchers strive to identify the atomic origins of wear created Feb 28, 2012 comments 0 T. Rex's killer smile revealed Tags late cretaceous period, dinosaur teeth, 65 million years, hadrosaur, new discovery, paleontologist, material properties, biomechanics, fossil, teeth, journal science Relevant PhysicsForums posts Darwinism: Where is the theory? createdOct 12, 2012 Amygdala help createdOct 11, 2012 How much are we genetically pre-programmed createdOct 11, 2012 How did torsion evolve in snails? createdOct 09, 2012 Any contraindications of inhaling pure O2? createdOct 09, 2012 Western Blot Alternatives? createdOct 09, 2012 More from Physics Forums - Biology More news stories Science denied: Why does doubt persist? The sign in front of the tall display case at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History lures visitors to "meet one of your oldest relatives." Inside stands a morganucodon, a mouse-like animal ... Other Sciences / Other created Oct 12, 2012 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (17) | comments 77 Fossil of ancient spider attack only one of its type ever discovered (Phys.org)—Researchers have found what they say is the only fossil ever discovered of a spider attack on prey caught in its web – a 100 million-year-old snapshot of an engagement frozen in time. Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils created Oct 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (20) | comments 23 | with audio podcast What are the biggest challenges to global democracy? In the new fall issue of the World Policy Journal, the editors liken today's period of politics to an "electoral tsunami." With more of the world's population heading to the polls than ever before, this new issue of WPJ in ... Other Sciences / Social Sciences created Oct 10, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 13 Quantitative easing only benefits the financial sector, UK research finds (Phys.org)—A review of evidence into Quantitative Easing (QE) has shown that the Government's hope that it will pull the UK out of recession may be unfounded. Other Sciences / Economics & Business created Oct 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 11 Complex brains evolved much earlier than previously thought, 520-million-year-old fossilized arthropod confirms Complex brains evolved much earlier than previously thought, as evidenced by a 520-million year old fossilized arthropod with remarkably well-preserved brain structures. Representing the earliest specimen ... Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils created Oct 10, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (15) | comments 7 | with audio podcast Gene signature validated for oral cancer metastases (HealthDay)—A multigene signature effectively predicts the presence of lymph node metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (OSCC) and oropharynx (OPSCC), according to a study published online ... Methotrexate use linked to reduced mortality in RA (HealthDay)—Use of methotrexate for one year or more is associated with a reduction in the risk of mortality for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a study published online Oct. 8 in ... Austrian daredevil to make new space jump bid Sunday (Update) An Austrian daredevil is preparing to make a new attempt Sunday to jump from the edge of space, days after his initial bid was aborted at the last minute due to the weather. Chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood, study shows A new study in animals shows that chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood, a finding that researchers suggest could increase understanding of postpartum depression. Cardiovascular IED infections have distinct features, outcomes (HealthDay)—Cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) have distinct clinical features and outcomes, ... Sphere-templated tissue scaffold is a viable subcutaneous implant (HealthDay)—Compared with high-density porous polyethylene (HDPPE) implant materials, sphere-templated poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly[HEMA]) tissue scaffold stimulates a minimal inflammatory response; ... top Home Medical Xpress Search Help What's new About us Contact / FAQ Partners PhysOrg Account Sponsored Account Newsletter RSS feeds iPhone iPad Apps Blackberry App Android App&Widget Amazon Kindle PDA version Feature Stories Weblog & Reports Podcasts Archive Facebook Twitter © Phys.Org™ 2003-2012 Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
Sign inRegister Account Profile Newsletter Favorites Activity Recent Activity Email notifications Display settings PM My news Add news filter Follow us Facebook Twitter Breaking news Health news Biology news Technology and Electronics Space news Physics and Nanotech Google Google toolbar button Google IG module Chrome extension Digg Newsletter RSS news feeds Latest news Spotlight news Feature and Editorials More Mobile Apps iPhone apps PhysOrg News Lite PhysOrg News Full Medical & Health News iPad apps PhysOrg News Lite PhysOrg News HD Android apps PhysOrg Science News Lite PhysOrg Science News Medical & Health News (free) Medical & Health News BlackBerry apps PhysOrg.com News Amazon Kindle Science and Research News Space and Earth News Physics and Nanotechnology Health and Medicine News Technology and Electronics Biology and Chemistry News Text-to-Speech Podcasts iTunes More Quick nav Feature stories Weblog & Reports Archive Video Podcasts Help Suggest a story idea Send feedback PhysOrg FAQ Sponsored account About us More Search advanced search Science and technology news Home Nanotechnology Physics Space & Earth Electronics Technology Chemistry Biology Medicine & Health Other Sciences Mathematics Archaeology & Fossils Other Social Sciences Economics & Business Researchers work across fields to uncover information about hadrosaur teeth October 11, 2012 by Cindy Spence Hadrosauroidea Enlarge Family tree of the Hadrosauroidea. Representative genera of each tribe are shown to scale. Credit: Wikipedia/GNU (Phys.org)—An unusual collaboration between researchers in two disparate fields resulted in a new discovery about the teeth of 65-million-year-old dinosaurs. Ads by Google Dental Implant Warnings - What You Should Know Before Getting Dental Implants. Read Expert Advice - symptomfind.com/CosmeticDentalCare With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old. Ads by Google Living With Dentures - Live Better With False Teeth. Explore Denture Advice And Tips. - www.DentureLiving.com/NewDentures Erickson said reptilian dinosaurs have been dismissed as simplistic creatures in their feeding and dental structure. They were herbivores, their teeth composed of enamel and dentine. The fossil record did little to contradict that. Testing with nanoindenters and microtribometers, however, proved the conventional wisdom wrong. "Hadrosaurs' teeth were incredibly complicated, among the most complex of any animal," Sawyer said. "These dinosaurs had developed a lot of tricks." The duck-billed hadrosaur was a toothy creature with up to 1,400 teeth, Erickson said. The teeth migrated across the chewing surface, with sharp, enamel-edged front teeth moving sideways to become grinding teeth as the teeth matured. The adaptation allowed hadrosaurs to bite off chunks of bark and stems and chew them to a digestible mush, leading Erickson to describe them as "walking pulp mills." The teeth wore down at the rate of 1 millimeter per day, cycling through the jaw like a conveyor belt, before falling out or being swallowed. The dinosaurs lost about 1,800 teeth a year, leaving behind plenty of fossils for testing. When the fossils emerged from batteries of tests, the researchers found six tissues in the tooth structure, not two. "Modern tools told us there were different materials in there," said Sawyer, who is also a UF Research Foundation Professor and Distinguished Teaching Scholar. Erickson said the work could not have been accomplished without Sawyer's lab, "arguably the best tribological lab in the world," and said he is excited about the possibilities for new avenues of research. There are drawers full of fossils in collections around the world that may have more information to yield. Sawyer agrees, and says that more engineering data could well be buried in fossils. "Perhaps now it makes sense to take some of that fossil record, when we have other pieces of the record, and start to do things like sectioning and histology," Sawyer said. "There are opportunities now with modern scientific tools to probe their mechanical and tribological properties. If we treat a fossil as a modern material, what happens? Do the mechanical properties track?" The collaborative nature of the Florida university system was a key to getting the work done, Sawyer said, as was the funding his research gets from the University of Florida Foundation. "It took us five years to do this because it was always a side project and wasn't funded. We could chew on it at our own pace," Sawyer said. "This is exactly what you hope for when you endow research, that people will take those funds and do things that are scientifically significant." Journal reference: Science search and more info website Provided by University of Florida search and more info website print this article email this article 0 text-to-speech save as pdf send feedback share to facebook share to twitter share to linkedin share to google share view popular send feedback to editors 4.5 /5 (2 votes) 1 2 3 4 5 Please register or sign in to add a comment. 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Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
With the help of University of Florida mechanical engineering professor W. Gregory Sawyer and UF postdoctoral researcher Brandon Krick, Florida State University paleobiologist Gregory Erickson determined the teeth of hadrosaurs—an herbivore from the late Cretaceous period—had six tissues in their teeth instead of two. The results were published in the journal Science Oct. 5. "When something has been in the ground 65 million years, by and large we pick it up and we look at it and say, 'oh, look at what has been preserved.' But we don't mechanically interrogate fossils to see if there is other information," Sawyer said. "When we started to mechanically interrogate these teeth, what we found was all of these properties were preserved, and one other thing: these teeth were a lot more complicated than we thought." For years, Erickson, who has a background in biomechanical engineering and studies bone biomechanics as a paleobiologist, had thought so. So he turned to the UF Tribology Laboratory, which researches the science of friction and surface wear. Engineers don't often see the interesting paleontological questions, Sawyer said. One look at the surface of the dinosaur teeth piqued his interest, however, because he is intrigued by how wear occurs across surfaces with different materials. The shape of the tooth made him think it was much more complex than previously thought. From an engineering perspective, Sawyer said his lab often works with composites that contain different material properties that wear differently, so the question was whether just two materials—enamel and dentine—would wear the way the hadrosaur teeth did. Sawyer and Krick thought not, and turned to nanoindenters and microtribometers. Just a decade ago, a paleontologist might not have asked engineers for help, and they could not have helped him. In the last 10 years, however, Sawyer said advances in engineering—tribology and nanoscience, in particular—make it possible to test more materials, even those millions of years old.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
Family tree of the Hadrosauroidea. Representative genera of each tribe are shown to scale. Credit: Wikipedia/GNU (Phys.org)—An unusual collaboration between researchers in two disparate fields resulted in a new discovery about the teeth of 65-million-year-old dinosaurs.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
Family tree of the Hadrosauroidea. Representative genera of each tribe are shown to scale. Credit: Wikipedia/GNU (Phys.org)—An unusual collaboration between researchers in two disparate fields resulted in a new discovery about the teeth of 65-million-year-old dinosaurs.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp
Family tree of the Hadrosauroidea. Representative genera of each tribe are shown to scale. Credit: Wikipedia/GNU (Phys.org)—An unusual collaboration between researchers in two disparate fields resulted in a new discovery about the teeth of 65-million-year-old dinosaurs.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-fields-uncover-hadrosaur-teeth.html#jCp

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