Dinosaurs

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

What at first appeared to be a newfound comet is in fact an asteroid that very recently shed a trail of debris--possibly from a collision with a smaller object

A flood of new tyrannosaur finds is helping to shed light on how their gargantuan successor developed

Laser altimetry data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have provided a comprehensive look at the cratering history of the inner solar system

The new documentary film Whiz Kids follows three high school student-scientists as they attempt to get their projects accepted into the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search. Scientific American podcast host Steve Mirsky talks with the film's writer and editor, Jane Wagner, and with two of the stars of the documentary, Ana Cisneros and Hermain Khan. Plus, we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Web sites related to content of this podcast include www.nature.com/nature/podcast and http://whizkidsmovie.com

Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina and staff editor Michael Moyer join podcast host Steve Mirsky to talk about articles in the July issue, including: "The Dirty Truth about Plug-In Hybrids"; "How Babies Think"; and "Birds That Lived with Dinosaurs". Plus, we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Web sites related to content of this podcast include www.scientificamerican.com/sciammag; http://bit.ly/cwcTtR

Ostrich wings, in addition to use in display and thermoregulation, let the giant birds make subtle, quick movements. Which could help researchers better understand the behavior of bipedal dinosaurs. Cynthia Graber reports

Modern birds, long thought to have arisen only after the dinosaurs perished, turn out to have lived alongside them

Paleontologists discover evidence that Mesozoic mammals turned to dinosaur bones as dietary supplements.