T-Rex's bite was 'three times greater than shark'

T-Rex's bite was 'three times greater than shark' - The Tyrannosaurus Rex had the most powerful bite of any creature ever to roam the Earth - up to three-and-a-half times greater than the Great White Shark, according to new research.

A man walks past a restored skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex

The dinosaur could bring its jaws together with a remarkable force of up to 57,000 Newtons (13,000 lbs) - four times more than previous estimates.

Its performance surpasses that of all animals, both living and extinct, including today's great white shark, the most terrifying modern day creature which packs a 3,600 pound (1.8 tons) bite.

Musculoskeletal biologist Dr Karl Bates said: "Our results show T Rex had an extremely powerful bite making it one of the most dangerous predators to have roamed our planet."

His researchers at Liverpool University made computer models of T Rex's jaw and compared it with similar reconstructions of the skulls of another theropod dinosaur Allosaurus, an alligator and a human.

They found it clamped down on is prey with a crushing force up to almost fifty times more than a large African lion (1,235lbs).

Dr Bates said: "Models predict adult T. rex generated sustained bite forces of 35,000 (8,000lbs) to 57,000 Newtons at a single posterior tooth, by far the highest bite forces estimated for any terrestrial animal."

The study published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters provides the first direct bite predictions and suggests T. rex probably had the most powerful bite of any terrestrial animal ever to have existed.

Results also suggest adult T. rex had a powerful bite in both absolute and relative terms for its body size, and that biting performance increased during growth, allowing it to kill and eat other big dinosaurs that were around at the time.

Dr Bates said: "The larger it grew the more it would have slowed down so its forearms got relatively smaller and its head bigger.

"This adds to evidence that it would have hunted and killed beasts that were even bigger than itself such as Triceratops and the armoured dinosaurs, possibly because it needed to prey on bigger animals to sustain itself."

He said the Nile crocodile's bite that has been measured at a force of 5,000 lbs (22,000 Newtons) is the closest living creature to it.

Then there is the Great White Shark but comparing a terrestrial animal with an aquatic one is "like chalk and cheese."

His team artificially scaled up the skulls of a human, alligator, a juvenile T Rex and Allosaurus to the size of an adult T Rex. In each case the bite forces increased but not to the level of the fully grown T Rex.

Dr Bates said: "Bite mechanics and feeding behaviour in Tyrannosaurus rex are controversial. Some contend a modest bite mechanically limited T. rex to scavenging, while others argue that high bite forces facilitated a predatory mode of life."

The researchers also found the juvenile T Rex has a relatively weaker bite than the adult suggesting feeding behaviour changed as it grew.

Juveniles possessed a lower, longer snouted skull than adult T. rex. Expansion of the skull with maturity potentially provided greater volume for jaw-closing.

Tyrannosaur body proportions changed appreciably during development and biomechanical analyses have provided strong evidence that young individuals were more athletic than adults.

With bite forces comparable to alligators and lions, combined with relatively long forelimbs and hindlimbs, juvenile T. rex appears well equipped to pursue and dispatch small to medium-sized prey.

Dr Bates said: "Forelimbs became significantly reduced in adults, and our results strongly suggest increasing importance of the skull in food procurement as compensation.

"Enhancement of an already highly competent biting apparatus during the exponential growth phase may be indicative of a change in feeding behaviour as T. rex reached adulthood.

"Living carnivores preying on large animals have relatively high bite forces, while carnivores preying on small prey have more moderate bite forces for their size, suggesting that bite force represents an important adaptation to differing feeding ecologies, at least throughout carnivoran evolution."

Attaining adult body sizes, combined with specialised jaw anatomy underpinning high mechanical performance, may have allowed adult T. rex to function as a 'large prey specialist', alleviating direct competition from smaller, more agile carnivores, including juvenile T. rex.

Dr Bates said: "The power of the T Rex jaw has been a much debated topic over the years.

"Scientists only have the skeleton to work with as muscle does not survive with the fossil so we often have to rely on statistical analysis or qualitative comparisons to living animals which differ greatly in size and shape from the giant enigmatic dinosaurs like T Rex.

"As these methods are somewhat indirect it can be difficult to get an objective insight into how dinosaurs might have functioned and what they may or may not have been capable of in life.

"To build on previous methods of analysis we took what we knew about T Rex rom its skeleton and built a computer model that incorporated the major anatomical and physiological factors that determine bite performance.

"We then asked the computer model to produce a bite so we could measure the speed and force of it directly. We compared this to other animals of smaller body mass and also scaled up smaller animals to the size of T rex to compare how powerful it was in relative terms."

Dr Bates added: "Ots unique musculoskeletal system will continue to fascinate scientists for years to come." ( telegraph.co.uk )

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Women wearing red send signals that attract men

Women wearing red send signals that attract men - Women dressed in red are more sexually attractive to men as the colour transmits "powerful" messages about how interested they might be, scientists have found.

A new study has found that men are more attracted to women wearing red compared to other colours because they believe they are less likely to be rejected

It seems men really do prefer the lady in red.

A new study has found that men are more attracted to women wearing red compared to other colours because they believe they are less likely to be rejected.

Psychologists behind the research claim the colour red carries subtle but powerful messages about how receptive a woman might be to romantic advances and so men find it more alluring.

The findings might explain why women in red dresses have become such a provocative image in modern culture, inspiring Chris de Burgh's 1986 love song The Lady in Red.

The researchers found that men who were shown photographs of women wearing a red shirt found them more attractive compared to when they saw the same women wearing green or white garments.

The study, which tested 96 men from the United States and Austria, also found that the men felt the women would respond positively to their advances.

Adam Pazda, a social psychologist at the University of Rochester, in New York state, who led the research along with colleagues at the University of Innsbruck, said the response may be hangover from humans' evolutionary past, as animals such as female baboons display patches of bright red skin to indicate they are ready to mate.

He said: "We find it fascinating that merely changing the colour of a woman's shirt can have such a strong influence on how she is perceived by men.

"It is possible that women actually wear red clothing more when they are interested in sexual encounters. We are currently investigating this possibility, and preliminary evidence suggests that this is indeed happening."

The study, which is published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, asked three groups of men to rate the attractiveness of "moderately attractive young woman" with brown hair in three separate experiments.

They were shown identical photographs where the colour of the shirt she was wearing had been changed to either red, white or green. They were also asked how sexually receptive they believed the woman to be.

Mr Pazda added: "From a pragmatic standpoint, our results suggest that women may need to be judicious in their use of red clothing.

"More generally, our finding that female red carries sexual meaning will likely be of considerable interest to fashion designers, marketers, and advertisers." ( telegraph.co.uk )

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Mystery of the Brown Mountain lights

Mystery of the Brown Mountain lights: Tourists flock to see see eerie phenomenon which have baffled residents for 100 years - Phenomenon has been spotted in the foothills of Brown Mountain in North Carolina

It is a phenomenon that has baffled residents and tourists for more than a century: mysterious lights spotted floating in the foothills of Brown Mountain in North Carolina.

Bobbing and weaving their way through a small area over the Linville Gorge in Burke County, the strange orb-like illuminations appear to float and glow near a modest peak, according to those who have seen them.

Some of the theories about their origin include claims that they reflections from car headlights, brush fires, a paranormal phenomenon - or something entirely natural which science has not yet explained.

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Investigators: Astronomy professor Dan Caton, left, adjusts a web cam as Lee Hawkins, right, looks at an image from the camera on his computer at the Wiseman's View Overlook

Whatever the explanation, the mysterious lights are attracting tourists in their droves, with scores making their way to the area in the hope of witnessing the spectacle for themselves.

Tourism officials are hoping to capitalise on the strange phenomenon, it has been reported. Since the Brown Mountain Lights were the subject of a cable television documentary and sparked online communities of amateur investigators, more and more people have been flocking to the area.

Earlier this month, a seminar held at Morganton City Hall on the Brown Mountain Lights attracted a sell-out crowd of 120 people, who each paid $20 a head. So popular was the seminar, there was even a crowd outside the door hoping to get in.

Ed Phillips, tourism director of Burke County, told the Huffington Post: 'It's a good problem to have. I could have sold 500 tickets.'

Another seminar is in the pipeline, and a contest - with a cash prize for the best photo of video of the lights - has been thrown open for enthusiasts.

T-shirts and fridge magnets featuring the lights have also gone on sale in the area to cash in on the spectacle.

Another event which tourist officials hope will take off is the Brown Mountain Paranormal Expedition.

Strange phenomenon: Glowing lights appear in the foothills of Brown Mountain. Sightings have been reported in the area for at least 100 years

Unexplained: Some of the theories behind the cause of the lights include reflections from cars, brush fires or a paranormal phenomenon

Attendees pay for a special dinner presentation about the lights before embarking on a tour of the sites where the phenomenon has been reported, led by a paranormal investigator.

Sightings of the lights have been reported for at least 100 years.

Steve Woody remembers seeing two orange orbs as he hunted deer with his father more than 50 years ago.

He said the lights passed him and his father before dropping down the side of a gorge, it has been reported.

He told the Huffington Post: 'I didn't feel anything spooky or look around for Martians or anything like that. It was just a unique situation. It's just as vivid now as when I was 12 years old.'

One of the first-known references to the lights in print appeared in 1913 in The Charlotte Observer.

In the sky: Orb-like lights appear to float in the sky above the mountainous landscape

Tourist attraction: Visitors are flocking to the area in the hope of witnessing the spectacle for themselves

The Brown Mountain Lights have been the subject of serious scientific interest since the 1920s.

It was this time the U.S. Geological Survey issued a report in which scientists claimed the phenomenon was the result of reflections from vehicles, trains or brush fires.

However, this might only be part of the explanation, according to Professor Daniel Caton who thinks there is more to it.

Caton, a professor in the physics and astronomy department at Appalachian State University, he had been on the verge of abandoning his research into the lights when he started hearing from people who claimed to have seen them up close - just feet away - instead of for miles across the Linville Gorge.

According to Caton, these later reports sounded like firsthand reports of ball lightning - a natural but little-understood phenomenon involving spheres of luminous lights which appear to bounce about in the air.

Caton is now hoping to catch these balls of light on camera, by setting up cameras at the site that will feed directly to his. This means the footage will be able to be viewed online at any time by anyone. ( dailymail.co.uk )

Now watch the video

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iPad with 7-inch screen to debut in 2012

iPad with 7-inch screen to debut in 2012 - The iPad 3 is expected to hit shelves next year. But Apple may also be prepping a smaller-version of its tablet computer.

Now, reports seem to point toward two iPad 3 devices in 2012? According to DigiTimes, a well-sourced Taiwanese newspaper, Apple is prepping a pair of tablets, one with a traditional display, and another with a smaller, 7.85-inch screen. (That's about half the size of today's iPad.) The full-sized iPad 3, DigiTimes reports, will arrive early in 2012, while the second – the smaller version – will arrive by the end of next year.

An iPad 3 is expected to hit shelves in early 2012. Here, the Apple iPad 2. Reuters

"[I]n order to cope with increasing market competition including the 7-inch Kindle Fire from Amazon and the launch of large-size smartphones from handset vendors, Apple has been persuaded into the development of 7.85-inch iPads, sources indicated," relays the DigiTimes team. "[M]akers in the supply chain are likely to begin production of the 7.85-inch models at the end of the second quarter of 2012," DigiTimes added.

Traditional caveat applies: This is sheer rumor, although it's from a good source. DigiTimes is usually pretty reliable, and it does make sense that Apple would want to counter the emergence of smaller tablets, such as the Fire, with its own stripped-down machine.

As we noted earlier this week, the iPad 3 – the one (probably) shipping in the first quarter of next year – is expected to get an HD display, possibly with more than double the resolution of the previous model. "[T]here do not appear to be any significant technical hurdles remaining," to a better display, Citi analyst Richard Gardner recently wrote in a note to investors. ( csmonitor.com )

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Apple to take on Kindle Fire?

Apple to take on Kindle Fire? - 8-inch iPad is being tested by Apple to compete with the likes of the Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy Tab, and others. An 8-inch iPad would be smaller and cheaper than the 10-inch version.

Apple is in the process of testing a smaller version of its iPad tablet, a product that could help it steal away market share from smaller tablets like the Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy Tab, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

In this file photo from September, the Kindle Fire is shown at a news conference, in New York. The e-reader's 7-inch multicolor touchscreen has had strong sales, which may be why Apple is reported to be testing a smaller, 8-inch iPad. Mark Lennihan/AP/File

While the iPad is still by far the number one selling tablet in the world, Amazon’s 7-inch Kindle Fire has had a relatively strong debut — though Amazon refuses to tell anyone exactly how many units it has sold. And then there are other smaller tablets in the market like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet and Motorola’s Xyboard tablets. Arguably, Apple has a good opportunity to create a smaller tablet to compete against these other devices.

Apple’s latest 10-inch iPad tablet, the iPad 3, will almost certainly be announced the first week of March and see release in the middle of that month. The iPad 3 is rumored to have a 2048-by-1536-pixel Retina display, a quad-core A6 processor, and 4G LTE networking. But we may not see a small-screened iPad debuting alongside the iPad 3 since Apple is still in the early stages of the development process. However, there has been previous speculation from Taiwanese publication Digitimes about a smaller iPad form factor would start production in mid-2012 and see release late in the year.

The Wall Street Journal report suggests that Apple has shown a new smaller tablet to suppliers that has a screen around 8 inches in size. The company is also reportedly working with Taiwan’s AU Optronics Co. and South Korea’s LG to create the test panels.

Ideally, the smaller form factor and a lower price could attract those who have small hands and feel the $500 base price for the iPad is too much. There are some consumers that simply prefer the 7- or 8-inch form factor simply because its lighter and better for reading during extended periods.

Would you be interested in buying a smaller version of the iPad? ( csmonitor.com )

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Was there a UFO in South Carolina? Exploding light ball caught on camera that shook homes and left residents calling 911

Was there a UFO in South Carolina? Exploding light ball caught on camera that shook homes and left residents calling 911 - Some residents of South Carolina received an initially terrifying awakening early Monday morning when their sky flashed bright blue and a large object was seen plummeting from the sky.

The unidentified flying object caught around Greenville county exploded in a few brief seconds causing an alarming boom that shook homes in several cities.

Over 30 emergency 911 calls were placed to at least one local police station while a number of fire fighters were dispatched before its mystery was solved.

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Startling: Over 30 emergency 911 calls were placed over the mysterious blue object caught falling from the sky

Explosion: Some firefighters were initially dispatched to the scene after hearing its explosion

Boom: The object's eventual crash shook some homes in the area

Identity: The object is believed to have been a bolide, a type of meteor or fireball

'It sounds like a typical bolide,' Dr Charles St Lucas of the Roper Mountain Science Center told Fox4 of what he believes was a meteor, albeit early of their next expected shower in late April.

'This one broke apart into three or four different pieces, glowed a bright blue white,' he said calling its spontaneity, 'delightful.'

With the sighting shortly before 2am, most residents didn't take it as coolly.

'I thought the aliens were coming,' one resident Cindie Stubbs told Fox4 with nervous excitement after witnessing the flash herself from above her home.

Morning fright: One startled witness, Cindie Stubbs, at first thought it could be extraterrestrial with it lighting up her backyard in the astonishingly bright blue glow at 2am

'I saw this big bright light that made the sand kind of almost sparkle it was so bright,' she said.

Bolides, according to the American Meteor Society, are a special type of fireball or astoundingly bright meteor.

They are known for exploding before their landfall with a bright flash, similar to the blue one seen around Greenville.

Dr St Lucas told GoUpState.com that the blue coloring indicates that it was composed of copper or copper chloride.

Being naturally occurring elements, it most likely wasn't falling 'space junk,' he reasons.

Injuries and damage from the sighting have not been reported. ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Was there a UFO in South Carolina? Exploding light ball caught on camera that shook homes and left residents calling 911

Angry Birds' Facebook Launch in Jakarta on Feb. 14

Angry Birds' Facebook Launch in Jakarta on Feb. 14 - Peter Vesterbacka is serious about standing out in the crowd. Cruising through an ocean of black business suits in a red hooded sweatshirt, this 42-year-old Finn turns heads with his appearance.

After all, it’s not the sort of look you would expect from someone who made Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People list last year. Vesterbacka is the chief marketing officer of Rovio, the Finnish mobile game developer behind “Angry Birds,” and proud owner of 17 “Angry Birds” sweatshirts, his favorite business attire.

“I’m wearing red for a reason,” Vesterbacka said during an appearance at Jakarta’s Founder Institute on Wednesday. “In marketing, it’s important to stand out.”

Rovio chief marketing officer Peter Vesterbacka speaking in Jakarta at the Founder Institute on Wednesday. (JG Photo/Lisa Siregar)

It’s an infallible trick; people come up to him and start talking about “Angry Birds,” the addictive mobile game that lets players slingshot a variety of birds at the antagonistic green pigs.

This simple concept is bringing Rovio big bucks. The game, released in 2009, costs 99 cents on Apple’s App Store and sits at more than 500 million downloads across all platforms since last year.

During his short visit to Jakarta, Vesterbacka announced that “Angry Birds” would come to Facebook on Valentine’s Day, in a bid to strive for 1 billion users. The worldwide launch will take place in Jakarta on Feb. 14 and will likely have a life-size game as part of the event.

“Angry Birds” will use Facebook to become even more social, letting players challenge their friends and share their best score.

For Vesterbacka, or “Mighty Eagle” in “Angry Bird” jargon, launching the Facebook app in Jakarta makes sense given Indonesians’ love for social media.

“It’s the Facebook capital of the world,” he said.

But Vesterbacka wants Indonesia to be more than just the launch place of a new app. Future versions of the game will also incorporate Indonesian cultural references like batik.

This won’t be the first time Rovio uses Asian cultural references. Last year, it featured Chinese moon cakes, a traditional dish during the mid-autumn festival, which was welcomed by users.

“It turns out that a lot of players never heard of them [Chinese moon cakes] before,” he said.

“Angry Birds” has come a long way since its App Store debut in December 2009. The game quickly reached 50 million downloads, a number that doubled in just three months thanks to the seasonal versions rolled out regularly.

Rovio had a quiet 2011 with only one release, “Angry Birds Rio,” a tie-in with the animated film “Rio.” Back in the head office, most of the time has been spent on expansion and working on a series of big launches planned for this year, with “Angry Birds” for Facebook just the first. The birds will catapult their way onto new merchandise such as clothes, toys and even cookies. “We are now the most copied brand in China,” Vesterbacka said with some pride.

There is even an unlicensed “Angry Birds” theme park in China where people can play a real-life version of the game. He takes unlicensed products as a good sign.

“It means we are more loved than Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty,” he said.

Disney is both a competitor and something of a role model for Rovio’s expansion. Vesterbacka said it was fascinating how Disney’s global success started with a black-and-white mouse cartoon, followed by more and more characters until the release of “Toy Story” in 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures.

Television is its other competitor in the race for people’s time and attention. Vesterback wants Rovio to become an entertainment giant with a billion fans worldwide.

“We focus on fans, not users or customers, because not all ‘Angry Birds’ lovers have actually played the game,” he said.

Vesterbacka emphasized that the company’s success didn’t happen overnight. “Angry Birds” is the company’s 52nd game and comes after tens of failed and less successful attempts since the company’s foundation in 2003, with only 12 developers. The only exception was “Bounce,” a game for Nokia handsets that enjoyed some popularity. Things began to change when Apple launched the iPhone in 2007.

“The iPhone and the App Store changed everything,” Vesterbacka said, acknowledging Rovio’s debt to Apple for solving developers distribution issues.

The idea of “Angry Birds” came from game designer Jaakko Iisalo. In early versions, it didn’t have any pigs and users struggled to understand the game, but they loved the birds.

Then the swine flu outbreak came and made headlines around the world. Rovio added some sneaky pigs who, according to the story, stole the birds’ eggs, thus making them angry. It took Rovio eight months to finish the first version of “Angry Birds” for Apple’s iOS mobile operating system.

Vesterbacka grew up a gamer and was enamored with anything digital. He dropped out of a marketing major at Finland’s University of Turku in 1989 to work for Hewlett-Packard. There he created Bazaar, a program that connects mobile operators encouraging collaboration on new mobile technologies.

In 2000, he founded Mobile Monday, or MoMo, an informal gathering for people working in Helsinki’s mobile industry. The event soon spread to Tokyo, Silicon Valley and 100 other cities worldwide later on. Vesterbacka also works with Startup Sauna, an accelerator in Helsinki, where he coaches and helps start-ups to make it into the industry.

Vesterbacka said Rovio was brimming with plans, including releasing a new game. But firstit is concentrating on integrating mobile games and entertainment.

“And we plan to add new ‘Angry Birds’ characters, and maybe name them,” Vesterbacka said.

At the moment, the game has around 12 characters, none with names beyond red bird, blue bird, yellow bird or black bird. Vesterbacka also said “Angry Birds” would soon be available on Xbox, PlayStation 3 and Nokia’s new handset, the Asha.

“As a growing company, you have to take advantage of every opportunity,” Vesterbacka said. And that is what Rovio is doing, one bird at a time. ( thejakartaglobe.com )

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