Cow sized Guinea pig found
A group of Venezuelan paleontologists have found the skeleton of a guinea pig the size of a cow. Weighing in at over 700 kilograms, the animal was three meters long and a meter and a half tall, with teeth that grew continuously. It likely fed on sea grass and lived a semi-aquatic lifestyle eight million years ago, dodging other big animals like crocodiles, marsupial cats and flightless carnivorous birds. An evolutionary cousin of today’s pet guinea pig, its complete skeletal remains were discovered when a student in the research group stumbled upon a bone sticking out of the sand. The huge animal most likely went extinct because they would serve as easy prey for predators, unlike quick and agile hoofed herbivores like deer. Small rodents, like our modern varieties, can escape much easier.
Source: Nature
-Joanne Tang
Galileo collides with Jupiter
The famous space probe Galileo plunged into Jupiter this Sunday, ending its 14-year career. The probe spent the last eight years orbiting the gas giant and its 61 moons, sending back reams of information-researchers have only examined about one per cent of the data so far. As it plunges into the planet at a speed of 173,000 kilometers an hour, Galileo will transmit information back to NASA about Jupiter’s inner magnetic field, which will help researchers determine the size of the planet’s solid metallic core. Astrophysicists orchestrated Galileo’s demise so as to ensure that it did not collide with any of Jupiter’s moons, particularly Europa, which may harbour life. Were Galileo to come into contact with any of these moons, it might contaminate them with microbes from Earth, thwarting future expeditions in search for life.
Source: Nature
-Zoe Cormier
