In the News: Return of the Thunder Lizard

Fig.1. The Brontosaurus can finally reclaim its place as a real species (Credit:Davide Bonadonna/Creative Commons)

This week in science brought us a new dinosaur, “extreme” museum exhibits, and a seed bank which might one day save the world. Read this #FollowFriday to learn more about the weird and unknown side of collections:

• This dinosaur, the so-called "thunder lizard," might be resurrected as its own species, thanks to a five-year study of 81 museum specimens from across Europe and the United States: “The Brontosaurus Is Back,” Scientific American (07 April 2015)

• Lasers, ground-penetrating radar, and drone photography are tools in an increasingly popular, non-invasive way to do archaeology: “Touch-Free Archaeology Reveals History With Lasers, Drones,” National Geographic (3 April 2015)

• Citizen Science is important for our understanding biodiversity on a large scale and aids in the fight against this invasive species in Australia: “Citizen Science And Biosecurity: Bee Alert And Bee Alarmed,” Atlas of Living Australia (08 April 2015)

• The American Museum of Natural History in New York City is celebrating the odd and marvelous organisms which inhabit every corner of Earth. These “extremophiles” can survive in a wide range of habitats that would be deadly for many other animals: “Extremophiles on Display,” The Scientist (02 April 2015)

• What happens when our crops fail? This seed vault holds the key to agriculture's survival in an endangered world: “This Is The Backup Plan If All Our Crops Are Wiped Out,” Washington Post (06 April 2015)