22 ms·
Fossil colour studies are changing our idea of how dinosaurs looked
- kuu 7y agoI don't like this kind of articles, because they start with a question that is not answered. What's the point about writing an article in a newspaper saying 'what is x' and being the answer 'we don't know' ? Edit: The title in HN has been changed. It was called "What color evolved for" or something similar...
- Errancer 7y agoTo remove doubt that there is a single, monolithic cause? And going from unknown unknowns to unknown knows is something very valuable in my opinion
- kuu 7y ago"going from unknown unknowns to unknown knows is something very valuable in my opinion". Agree, but don't give me a clickbait title (now it has changed)
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- jacoblsievers 7y agoActually title of referenced study: "Tissue-specific geometry and chemistry of modern and fossilized melanosomes reveal internal anatomy of extinct vertebrates"
- deepsun 7y ago> Betteridge's law of headlines is an adage that states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no".
- taneq 7y agoJust the same as any other evolved feature: It supported the Four F's (feeding, fighting, fleeing, and fornicating).
- jobigoud 7y agoWhat about sleeping/resting?
- dlivingston 7y agoEvolution can be rephrased as: a function for maximizing genetic reproducibility. Everything else, including sleeping, is a consequence of - and in service of - this function.
- jobigoud 7y agoYes but in that case no reason to highlight fighting and fleeing. I'm just doubtful this "four Fs" from the parent comment is a good mnemonic. It feels more forced than anything and either includes too much or not enough.
- goatlover 7y agoThat's a bit reductionistic as there's lots of other things organisms do.
- kevin_thibedeau 7y agoMost of human behavior boils down to the same. You can simplify it even further as "doing things to avoid discomfort".
- jtbayly 7y agoNo new drawings in this article to help me revise my mental picture, though.
- psychometry 7y agoNor any descriptive text except for saying that some dinosaurs had feathers, which most people already knew.
- mumblemumble 7y agoI think the article just has a poorly selected title. The real interesting new research it's presenting has nothing to do with how dinosaurs looked. It's really about a possible discovery in dinosaur physiology: that they produced melanin in more than just their skin, which implies that animals might have uses for it beyond just pigmentation.
- adamc 7y agoYes, exactly. It's really not even limited to dinosaurs.
- jasonshew 7y agoSorry but my idea is not changing anyway...
- logfromblammo 7y agoTo clarify the article title: Investigations into dinosaur coloration have revealed that study of melanosomes can reveal details of internal structures in addition to just external appearances. The implied question was "What colors were the dinosaurs?" The unexpected answer was "Several colors on the outside, but the remains of their internal organs can also be differentiated by color."
- aiyodev 7y agoMost people haven’t changed their mental image to include feathers yet. Dinosaurs are prehistoric birds.
- cptnapalm 7y agoI'm personally looking forward to the Jurassic Park iteration with giant chickens.
- perl4ever 7y agoThe idea that dinosaurs were basically warm blooded birds hit pop culture back in 1986[1], four years before the first Jurassic Park. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dinosaur_Heresies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dinosaur_Heresies