How fast did dinosaurs grow?

+ how exploding stars can affect the Earth; murky genetic ancestry US Edition - Today's top story: Growing quickly helped the earliest dinosaurs and other ancient reptiles flourish in the aftermath of mass extinction [View in browser]( US Edition | 3 April 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Dinosaurs and extinction are two ideas inextricably linked in my mind, largely thanks to the famous meteor that brought about dinos’ demise. But it was in the wake of an earlier mass extinction event about 250 million years ago that dinosaurs really got their toehold in the world. How the dinosaurs that evolved from a few lucky survivors of what scientists call the Great Dying came to dominate the Earth has been a bit of a mystery. Kristi Curry Rogers, a vertebrate paleontologist at Macalester College, and her colleagues decided to look for clues within fossilized bones. They were interested in animals’ growth rates: Could growing quickly be one of the factors, when “combined with luck, that finally allowed dinosaurs to rise and rule?” Probably, Rogers writes – but they weren’t the only creatures at that time [with the same grow-fast strategy](. Also in this week’s science news: - [Ways to protect bridges from ship collisions]( - [Can we power cars by the Sun?]( - [China’s scientific research productivity boosts global ranking]( If there’s a subject you’d like our team of science editors to investigate, please reply to this email. Maggie Villiger Senior Science + Technology Editor Eoraptor lunensis lived roughly 230 million years ago, at a time when dinosaurs were small and rare. Jordan Harris courtesy of Kristi Curry Rogers [Growing quickly helped the earliest dinosaurs and other ancient reptiles flourish in the aftermath of mass extinction]( Kristi Curry Rogers, Macalester College By examining fossilized bone tissue, a new study finds rapid growth was an asset for survivors of the Great Dying 250 million years ago, Earth’s largest mass extinction event. Massive dying stars emit large amounts of radiation. NASA/ESA/Hubble SM4 ERO Team via AP [Exploding stars are rare but emit torrents of radiation − if one happened close enough to Earth, it could threaten life on the planet]( Chris Impey, University of Arizona Some ancient texts record what were likely dying stars, faintly visible from Earth. If close enough, these events can disturb telescopes and even damage the ozone layer. A genetic match to an ancient person doesn’t mean you’re more related genealogically. 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