Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > June
> June 11,
2004:
Hour One: News Roundup: Dino News / Ancient Mammals / The Sleepy Brain
|
A wrinke-faced dinosaur from Africa had cousins in South America and India, and could provide clues to how the ancient continents split. In this hour, it's a round-up of the latest science news. We'll hear more about tracking continental drift through dinosaurs, and talk to paleontologist Paul Serreno. We'll also find out about small mammals called 'solenodons' that date back to the age of dinosaurs -- and could have lived through the asteroid impact that killed the huge reptiles. Then, we'll talk about sleep and the brain. New research published this week suggests that sleep may be needed not to give overworked brain circuits some time off, but to allow for neural circuits to rearrange themselves to make sense of new learning. We'll talk to one of the researchers on the project about how the test was performed, and about what the finding means. |
 Rugops primus, meaning “first
wrinkle face.” |
Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).
Guests:
Al Roca
Senior Scientist, Laboratory
of Genomic Diversity
Frederick Cancer Research and Development
Center
National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health
Frederick, Maryland
***************************************
Paul Sereno
Paleontologist
University of Chicago
President and co-founder
Project Exploration
Chicago, Illinois
********************
Giulio Tononi
Professor, Psychiatry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
This segment produced by Karin Vergoth
Archived Audio:
solenodons
listen
in RealAudio format
listen
in Windows Media format
new dino
listen
in RealAudio format
listen
in Windows Media format
sleep
listen
in RealAudio format
listen
in Windows Media format
streaming audio help
from NPR
Related Links:
Sereno
welcomes first 'wrinkle face' to the fossil record
Wrinkle
Face Dinosaur Fossil Found in Africa
DINOSAUR
SKULL SHEDS LIGHT ON AFRICA'S BIRTH
Two
Dinosaurs From Africa Give Clues To Continents ' Split
Want
to learn something new? Go to sleep .
Mastering
a task puts part of brain to sleep
Sleep
Tight, Parietal Lobe
- Books/Articles Discussed:
New dinosaurs link southern landmasses in the Mid-Cretaceous Paul C. Sereno, Jeffrey A. Wilson, Jack L. Conrad. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, published online June 2004. doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2692 - Huber, R. et al."Local Sleep and Learning,' Nature, published online, June 2004. doi:10.1038/nature02663
Copyright 2004 ScienceFriday Inc. All Rights Reserved.