The demise of the dinosaurs, and Science versus God are among our choices for cool stories this week. Check these out.
About 200 million years ago, a leech released a slimy mucous cocoon that unwittingly encased and trapped a bizarre animal with a springy tail, preserving it until researchers discovered the teardrop-shaped creature in Antarctica recently.<br><br> The cocoon looks like those produced by living leeches, such as the medicinal leech <i>Hirudo medicinalis</i>. Encased inside was a bell animal that looked similar to species in the genus <i>Vorticella</i>; its body extends 25 microns (about the width of some human hairs) with a tightly coiled stalk about twice that long. And like all eurkaryotes, the organism was equipped with a nucleus — in this case, a large horseshoe-shaped nucleus inside the main body. (A micron is one-millionth of a meter.) <br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25344-bizarre-creature-ancient-cocoon.html> Bizarre Creature Found in 200-Million-Year-Old Cocoon</a>]
The universe we live in may not be the only one out there. In fact, our universe could be just one of an infinite number of universes making up a "multiverse."<br><br> Though the concept may stretch credulity, there's good physics behind it. And there's not just one way to get to a multiverse — numerous physics theories independently point to such a conclusion. In fact, some experts think the existence of hidden universes is more likely than not.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25335-multiple-universes-5-theories.html> 5 Reasons We May Live in a Multiverse </a>]
Humans drive trillions of miles in cars, clear-cut forests for agriculture and create vast landfills teeming with tin cans, soda bottles and other detritus of industrialization. There's no doubt that humans have radically reshaped the planet, and those changes leave traces in the Earth's geological record.<br><br> At the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union this week, geologists are grappling with how to define the boundaries of that human-centered geologic era, referred to as the Anthropocene. Despite our dramatic impact on the planet, defining our era has proven a difficult task.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25332-anthropocene-humans-geologic-era.html> Have Humans Caused a New Geological Era? </a>]
Volcanic activity in modern-day India, not an asteroid, may have killed the dinosaurs, according to a new study.<br><br> Tens of thousands of years of lava flow from the Deccan Traps, a volcanic region near Mumbai in present-day India, may have spewed poisonous levels of sulfur and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and caused the mass extinction through the resulting global warming and ocean acidification, the research suggests.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25324-volcanoes-killed-dinosaurs.html>Volcanoes, Not Meteorite, Killed Dinosaurs, Scientist Argues</a>]
Despite recent strides in "sex addiction" research, the condition does not make the cut as an official psychiatric disorder, according to the American Psychiatric Association.<br><br> On Dec. 1 the APA approved the latest version of its mental health handbook known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5. The manual includes several new disorders such as hoarding and binge eating.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25306-sex-addiction-disorder.html>'Sex Addiction' Still Not Official Disorder </a>]
Three out of five scientists do not believe in God, but two out of five do, said John Donvan, opening a debate on the issue of science and religion yesterday (Dec. 5) in New York.<br><br> The discussion pitted the perspectives from both sides against one another: Does science refute religion? Or does science address a different set of questions, with answers that can point toward religious truths?<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25303-science-vs-god-debate.html> Science vs. God: Does Progress Trump Faith?</a>]
Dogs can learn new tricks, at least according to an animal shelter in New Zealand that has trained three of their canines to drive a car.<br><br> Porter, Ginny and Monte are all rescue dogs in the care of the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. To prove that rescue dogs are just as smart and obedient as nurtured dogs, a trainer found a way to teach these mutts how to operate a specially outfitted Mini Countryman.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25299-dogs-learn-drive.html>Dogs Learn to Drive a Car</a>]
The largest ancient Egyptian sarcophagus has been identified in a tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, say archaeologists who are re-assembling the giant box that was reduced to fragments more than 3,000 years ago.<br><br> Made of red granite, the royal sarcophagus was built for Merneptah, an Egyptian pharaoh who lived more than 3,200 years ago. A warrior king, he defeated the Libyans and a group called the "Sea Peoples" in a great battle.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25282-largest-egyptian-sarcophagus.html> Fit for a King: Largest Egyptian Sarcophagus Identified</a>]
Paleolithic people living more than 10,000 years ago had a better artistic eye than modern painters and sculptures — at least when it came to watching how horses and other four-legged animals move.<br><br> A new analysis of 1,000 pieces of prehistoric and modern artwork finds that "cavemen," or people living during the upper Paleolithic period between 10,000 and 50,000 years ago, were more accurate in their depictions of four-legged animals walking than artists are today. While modern artists portray these animals walking incorrectly 57.9 percent of the time, prehistoric cave painters only made mistakes 46.2 percent of the time.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25269-cavemen-better-modern-artists-animal-walks.html> Cavemen Trump Modern Artists at Drawing Animals</a>]
A wonky beast about the size of a Labrador retriever with a long neck and lengthy tail may be the world's earliest known dinosaur, say researchers who analyzed fossilized bones discovered in Tanzania in the 1930s.<br><br> Now named <i>Nyasasaurus parringtoni</i>, the dinosaur would've walked a different Earth from today. It lived between 240 million and 245 million years ago when the planet's continents were still stitched together to form the landmass Pangaea. Tanzania would've been part of the southern end of Pangaea that also included Africa, South America, Antarctica and Australia.<br><br> [Full Story: <a href=http://www.livescience.com/25246-oldest-dinosaur-fossils-discovered.html>Earth's Earliest Dinosaur Possibly Discovered</a>]
