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> April 21 2000: Hour Two: Biosphere 2 / Dino with a Heart | In 1991, the Biosphere 2 facility was completed in the Oracle, Arizona, north of Tucson. It was designed as a completely enclosed, self-sustaining environment, able to support a team of eight human residents known as "biospherians." The experiment was criticized by some as pseudoscience -- and, after the team of biospherians pulled out of the mega-terrarium in 1993, a scientific failure. Extra oxygen had to be pumped into the domes to sustain the residents. There were reports that the biospherians smuggled food in from the outside when crop production declined. Many of the plants, animals, and insects in the habitat died. | 
| The habitat's reputation hit bottom, including being mocked by Pauly Shore in the 1996 movie "Bio-dome." In 1996, however, the facility began a turnaround. Columbia University stepped in, adding several million dollars (and plenty of prestige) to a mix that included a rain forest, savanna, marsh, ocean, and 6,500 windows. Columbia spent time and money luring reputable scientists to the domes to conduct research on ecosystems, and now operates the facility as a branch campus. Students from several universities attend classes and conduct research at the facility for up to a year at a time. On this hour of Science Friday, we'll take a look inside the domes to find out what, if anything, the rest of the world can learn from an completely enclosed, controllable ecosystem. | We'll also find out about a new dinosaur discovery that's making news. Researchers in Oregon and North Carolina report in the journal Science this week that they have discovered the traces of a heart in a dinosaur fossil -- and that heart is much more advanced than that of modern-day reptiles. In fact, the researchers say, the 4-chambered, double-pump heart that the scientists say they have imaged by taking CAT scans of the fossilized remains may even support a hypothesis that says dinosaurs were warm-blooded. | 
Artist's conception, courtesy www.dinoheart.org | The dinosaur, nicknamed "Willo," is a 66-million-year-old Thescelosaurus from South Dakota. Willo's fossil contains fossilized remains of soft tissues that usually rot away before they become fossilized, including tendons connected to its spine, and cartilage attached to its ribs. The researchers believe that Willo may contain other fossilized organs in addition to the heart. We'll talk to one of the researchers about the studies on Willo, and what they might mean for our understanding of dinosaur physiology. Tune in! 
Right lateral view, showing the right (R) and left (L) ventricular cavities, preserved sternal ribs (S) and plates resembling uncinate processes (U) attached to the thoracic ribs. Image © Science. | 
Enlarged right lateral view ,showing the systemic arch (SA) and right (R) and left (L) ventricular cavities.Image © Science. | Guests:
William C. Harris
President and Executive Director
Columbia University Biosphere 2 Center
Oracle, Arizona Chris Langdon
Associate Research Scientist
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Columbia University
Palisades, New York Dale Russell
Paleontologist
North Carolina State University
Senior Research Curator
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Raleigh, North Carolina
Books/Articles Discussed: | "Cardiovascular Evidence for an Intermediate or Higher
Metabolic Rate in an Ornithischian Dinosaur" by Paul E. Fisher, Dale A. Russell, Michael K. Stoskopf, Reese E. Barrick, Michael Hammer, Andrew A. Kuzmitz.Science April 21, 2000. (find more SciFri Books here)
| | Related Links:
Biosphere 2 Center
Student Advantage: Study Abroad: Spending the Semester in Biosphere 2
Bio-Dome (1996) dinoheart.org
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
New Scientist: Opinion interview: King of hearts
Dinosaur Anatomy This segment produced by:
Annette Heist
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist |