Science grab-bag post. Let's start with some exciting news. PHYS.ORG has an article by University of Texas at Austin about a baby dino:
Cute, green, and sporting two sprigs of hair on his head, a mischievous baby dinosaur named Dooly is one of the most beloved cartoon characters in South Korea. So, when researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and the Korean Dinosaur Research Center discovered a new species of baby dinosaur from Korea's Aphae Island, they knew exactly what to call it: Doolysaurus.
"Dooly is one of the very famous, iconic dinosaur characters in Korea. Every generation in Korea knows this character," said Jongyun Jung, a visiting postdoctoral researcher at UT's Jackson School of Geosciences who led the research. "And our specimen is also a juvenile or 'baby,' so it's perfect for our dinosaur species name to honor Dooly."
The baby dinosaur is the first new dinosaur species discovered in Korea in 15 years and the first Korean dinosaur fossil found with portions of its skull. The skull bones were revealed when the fossil underwent a scientific micro-CT scan at the University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography (UTCT) facility.
"When we first found the specimen, we saw some leg bones preserved and some vertebrae," Jung said. "We didn't expect skull parts and so many more bones. There was a fair amount of excitement when we saw what was hidden inside the block."
Stephen Luntz (IFL SCIENCE) adds:
The individual dinosaur was about the size of a turkey, but growth markings in its femur revealed it was at most two years old and still growing. Jung and co-authors think the adults might have been about twice as large, but that estimate is rough.
Although not discussed in their paper, the authors also think this dinosaur junior had fuzzy body-covering threads that would have given it a more babyish appearance. “I think it would have been pretty cute,” said study coauthor, UT's Professor Julia Clarke. “It might have looked a bit like a little lamb.”
“Dooly is one of the very famous, iconic dinosaur characters in Korea. Every generation in Korea knows this character,” said Jung. “And our specimen is also a juvenile or ‘baby’, so it’s perfect for our dinosaur species name to honor Dooly.”
TEXAS STANDARD spoke with Jongyun Jung and Julia Clarke about the discovery and posted a transcript of the conversation:
Texas Standard: So when did you realize you had a new species and how did you feel at that moment?
Jongyun Jung: Yeah, actually my research background was the fossil footprints and kinds of their footprints and tracks. But yeah, I’m always dreaming to finding new dinosaur species by my hands.
So when we found this character, after we excavate these dinosaur fossils and scanning this specimen, we figured out very different character with other dinosaur species.
And yeah, this is the one of the very important moments in my life.
Julia Clarke: I’m going to add to that, I’ll just say that figuring out whether you have a new species, it might be interesting to know, is not an easy process because you have to compare the attributes of the new specimen, the new skeleton, to all other known dinosaurs.
And there are different data sets that help you do that, but it’s like you have to look at every bump on every bone, at the characteristics of every part of the skull to make sure that you don’t have another representative of a previously described species.
So when we finally had that evidence and we could clearly say that this was a new species, yeah, it was a very exciting moment. I mean, given this is the first — a new dinosaur species described from Korea in how many years is it, Jongyun?
Jongyun Jung: After 15 years.
So Doolysaurus is a new and exciting discovery. Let's go to another new discovery. This one is 13,000 years old. Melissa Ait Lounis (DAILY GALAXY) reports:
A set of 13,000-year-old footprints discovered on Calvert Island is offering rare, direct evidence of human activity along North America’s Pacific coast. Preserved in shoreline sediment, the tracks point to a small group moving together at the water’s edge.
Such discoveries are uncommon. According to Duncan McLaren, lead author of the study published in PLOS One, fossilized footprints are rarely found in archaeological contexts, though coastal erosion can occasionally reveal them.
At the time these footprints were made, sea levels were lower than today, exposing stretches of coastline that are now submerged. This environmental context makes the site particularly valuable for understanding early human presence in the region.
The find also contributes to broader discussions about how the first humans reached the Americas, especially the role of coastal routes during the last ice age.
Researchers uncovered 29 distinct footprints, with clear impressions of toes, arches, and heels. According to the study, the sizes correspond to three individuals, roughly equivalent to a woman’s size 8-9, a junior’s size 8, and a smaller adult size.
So that will factor into the migration information. Let's stay with the Americas and go to a tool that we all know of today and when it first came to be present in the United States. Eric Ralls (EARTH.COM) reports:
A new study is reshaping how scientists think about one of humanity’s most important hunting tools. The bow and arrow – long assumed to spread slowly across western North America – now appears to have arrived almost all at once – about 1,400 years ago.
That rapid rollout didn’t just replace older weapons. It set off a chain of changes that played out differently depending on where people lived.
By tracing when and where the bow took hold, researchers are uncovering how a single innovation can move quickly across vast landscapes – and why it doesn’t lead to the same outcome everywhere.
Preserved wooden weapons recovered from melting ice, dry caves, and rock shelters hold direct evidence of this transition.
Analyzing those remains, Briggs Buchanan at the University of Tulsa demonstrated that bows and arrows emerged across both northern and southern regions at nearly the same moment.
Across 136 well-preserved weapons spanning thousands of years, the same pattern appears: a sudden debut followed by sharply different regional outcomes.
Jennifer Ouellette (ARS TECHNICA) adds:
At some point in North America, the atlatl was replaced by the bow and arrow, thanks to the latter’s increased arrow accuracy, distance, velocity, more frequent shots, plus the ability to shoot (and reshoot) from a number of different positions. There were also trade-offs, though: Using a bow costs more to make and maintain, for instance, and it requires both hands to operate, making it difficult to also hold a shield. Its widespread adoption probably occurred because the benefits outweighed the downsides.
It’s challenging to determine when the bow was introduced and how quickly it was adopted because the weapons are made with organic materials that tend not to be preserved, unlike stone, bone, or metal tools. So for this latest study, Eren and his co-authors focused on radiocarbon dating a carefully curated dataset of clearly identifiable weapons found in dry caves and rock shelters (naturally anaerobic environments).
The radiocarbon dating results showed that the bow and arrow emerged in North America roughly 1,400 years ago. However, in the north, that weapon coexisted with the atlatl for several centuries, while the bow proved to be disruptive almost immediately in the south, quickly rendering tools like the atlatl obsolete. For the authors, this is evidence of “a relatively late introduction that occurred nearly simultaneously across a vast area, followed by regionally distinct adoption trajectories.”
In other words, the bow and arrow likely had a single origin that then rapidly diffused through cultural transmission networks, with a few regional differences affecting the rate of replacement. Eren et al. note that there is also evidence from other studies of people in several geotemporal contexts converging on bow-and-arrow technology multiple times since the African Middle Stone Age. So more data is needed to make a definitive finding, and for now, at least, “such testing is beyond current archaeological resolution and analysis,” the authors wrote.
Now that's a lot so far and we can use our imagination to picture what these discoveries might lead to. Guess what? Humans aren't the only ones with imagination. TOMMOROW'S WORLD TODAY reports:
A new set of experiments, published in the journal Science, showed that a bonobo named Kanzi was able to play along with a game of make-believe, providing the first evidence that humans aren’t the only animals capable of using their imagination.
Presenting the test as part of a game, a team of researchers offered Kanzi invisible juice and grapes, similar to a child’s pretend tea party. The results showed that the primate was able to track the invisible juice as it was being “poured” between bottles and pitchers.
“He’s able to follow along and track the location of a pretend object, but at the same time, he appreciates that it’s not actually there,” said Chris Krupenye, an author of the study and an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University.
Though scientists previously assumed that imagination or the ability to consider multiple realities was an exclusively human trait, some observations of behaviors in primates called this into question. These include young chimpanzees playing with a “log doll” and moving imaginary blocks.
“We think of our ability to imagine other worlds or other objects, or imagine futures, as one of these rich features of human mental life that are presumed to be unique to our species,” Krupenye said. But apes “might share some of the foundational cognitive machinery that will enable at least some degree of imagination.”
Eric Ralls (EARTH.COM) explains:
Pretend play looks like child’s stuff. Empty cups. Fake juice. An invisible grape. On the surface, it seems light and silly. But beneath that simple scene sits a hard mental task: keeping track of something that is not really there while also knowing it is not real.
Imagination relies on a skill called secondary representation. A brain can hold two ideas at once without mixing them.
One idea matches reality, such as empty cups on a table. Another idea exists only in imagination, such as juice inside one cup. The brain keeps both ideas separate to avoid confusion.
Human children develop this skill early. Pretend games with tea or food show clear understanding of real and imagined situations.
Scientists link secondary representation to planning, understanding others, and thinking about possibilities. For many years, researchers debated whether animals could use this kind of thinking.
RJ Mackenzie (SCIENCE NEWS) adds:
By a year old, human children can start playing pretend. By age three, most kids can build whole imaginary words in their minds. This ability is necessary for many complex tasks.
The new study started with Kanzi, a very special bonobo. He had learned to communicate with scientists using symbols that represent words. Such symbols are called lexigrams.
“We were starstruck by Kanzi,” says Amalia Bastos. She studies behavior and intelligence in animals at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Bastos met Kanzi in 2023. During their first meeting, Kanzi used a board with lexigrams to ask Bastos and a colleague to chase each other. Bastos noticed that the bonobo really enjoyed watching them run after one another, even if it was just pretend.
That got her wondering what other types of make-believe games Kanzi might be able to understand. So she asked Christopher Krupenye for help. He’s a cognitive scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Together, they designed make-believe tests for Kanzi.
In the first of those, Kanzi sat down at a table with two glasses. A researcher brought out an empty, see-through pitcher. With the pitcher, they pretended to fill up the two glasses with imaginary “juice” — Kanzi’s favorite drink. Then, they poured the imaginary juice from one of the glasses back into the pitcher and asked Kanzi which glass was full.
The bonobo chose the glass that still had make-believe juice more than two out of every three times. That’s a lot more correct answers than if Kanzi were just guessing. But the researchers worried this might not be because he was playing pretend.
“Kanzi is an old bonobo. Maybe his vision isn’t very good. Maybe he thinks that there’s real juice in these things,” says Bastos. So she and her colleagues asked Kanzi to choose between real and fake juice, to make sure he could see the difference.
"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has missed the deadline to release all the Epstein files. Even among the released sections, there have been alleged instances of attempts to redact Trump’s name and images.
Among the files that were released, there was a heavily redacted version of a 2009 email from Epstein’s attorney, Jack Goldberger. On Wednesday, March 18, New York Rep. Dan Goldman said on the House floor that he had seen the unredacted version and displayed the same, which he mentioned was the complete email.
With the email at his disposal, Goldman accused the president of “false statements over the past quarter century about Jeffrey Epstein,” and also criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi for the decision of her department to redact the contents of the mail.
Goldman further voiced his concern, saying, “If the attorney general is covering up this information that she then reveals to Congress, what else is she covering up about Donald Trump’s involvement in the Epstein files?”
The conversations that took place in the course of the whole email appeared to be directly contradicting Trump’s claims that he had expelled Epstein from Mar-a-Lago as the mail showed that the disgraced financier was “never asked to leave.”
This directly contradicts Trump’s claim that he kicked Epstein out of the resort in 2004 due to his poaching of Mar-a-Lago employees. Goldman claimed that the document was being deliberately withheld by the Department of Justice, violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act that Trump signed into law in November.
“This document here was redacted to the public. It was unredacted to Congress and it completely disputes everything that Donald Trump has said about Jeffrey Epstein,” Goldman said, displaying a blown-up poster of the email. “Now, why is this important? Because if the attorney general is covering up this information that she then reveals to Congress, what else is she covering up about Donald Trump’s involvement in the Epstein files?”
The document, a 69-page target profile prepared
for the DEA by the Department of Justice’s now-defunct Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Forces, was released in January along with
millions of pages of other documents from the Epstein files. Although
heavily redacted, it showed that the DEA and the Task Forces, known as
OCDETF, investigated Epstein, 12 other people and two businesses in
2015.
The target profile said the “individuals are involved in illegitimate wire transfers which are tied to illicit drug and/or prostitution activities occurring in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York City.” (OCDETF, a transnational crime fighting unit created in the Reagan era, was defunded and shuttered last year.)
Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that the DEA-OCDETF probe centered on the procurement of Eastern European prostitutes for high-profile clients and the illicit funding and distribution of so-called club drugs, including ecstasy, methamphetamines and ketamine, a drug known to facilitate date rape. The individuals, whose identities were redacted in the target profile, included Epstein’s brother, accountants, attorneys and European women who worked as his assistants or fashion models, according to the people familiar with the case.
During Wednesday’s Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing into Mullin’s nomination, bygones would not be bygones. It didn’t take long to recognize that the core of the hearing would be an honor dispute between two strong-willed men.
Paul opened the hearing by describing his attack in rich detail: The six broken ribs, the damaged lung, the infections and pneumonias, the coughing of blood, the chest tubes.
“Tell the world why you believe I deserved to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken, and a damaged lung,” Paul addressed the nominee. “Tell it to my face why you think I deserved it. And while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents.”
A hearing like this, in which the nominee has recently joked about an assault on the committee chairman, is a rarity. But the opportunity was nevertheless there for a sort of staged closure: Mullin could apologize, say he got carried away, and pledge to work with the chairman going forward.
Mullin did not choose that path. When he first responded to Paul, Mullin acknowledged that the two “just don’t get along,” and aggressively said to Paul that it “seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us.” When Paul pressed him again about his lack of apology, lack of contrition, and inability to even say he “misspoke,” while ribbing him about his “low impulse control” and presentation of “machismo,” Mullin didn’t waver.
“I did not say I supported” the attack, Mullin said. “I said I understood it.”
[. . .]
One thread that [Senator Gary] Peters pulled on was whether Mullin had inflated his background. As the Washington Post reported before the hearing, Mullin has never served in the military, but he has often told stories alluding to being in hairy situations “overseas” while on “special assignments.” He has referred to the “smell” of war. In the hearing, Mullin described an “official,” “classified” trip from a decade ago which only “four people” were read in on. He refused to offer any more details in an open setting. As Paul and Peters tried to get more information, they lost their ability to not wryly make fun of him, with Paul describing it as “this super-secret mission.”
“No, I did not say ‘super-secret,’ sir,” Mullin responded.
NYT: Republicans, Braced for Losses, Push More Voting Restrictions in Congress
AP: The biggest change to voting in Republican election bill could become a burden for many US voters
PBS: How Trump’s SAVE America Act would reshape voting and why critics are concerned
NPR: Trump wants to stop states from voting by mail and using voting machines
***WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE HERE, DOWNLOAD HERE***
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a virtual press conference to sound the alarm on the dangers of Trump and Republicans trying to ram through the SAVE America Act to make it harder and more expensive for Americans to register to vote and cast their ballots—as they do nothing to make life more affordable for working people. Senator Murray was joined by, Mary Hall, Thurston County Auditor, and Eliza Sweren-Becker, Deputy Director, Voting Rights and Elections, Democracy at the Brennan Center, who spoke to how the SAVE America Act will make it harder and more expensive for Americans to vote.
Trump and Republicans’ SAVE America Act would push states to purge American citizens from the voter rolls, kill voter registration by mail and online, reject common IDs used to register to vote—making Americans pay for new IDs and therefore making it more expensive to vote, force Americans to register to vote in person, and penalize married women who have changed their last names.
“Republicans are charging ahead to jam through the so-called SAVE America Act, with no regard for common sense, cost, or our democracy and our values. This push on this bill isn’t going to save anyone, but it is going to make it more expensive and harder to vote. You might as well call it the Suppressing American Voters Effectively Act,” said Senator Murray. “Your Real ID, your driver’s license, student ID, or even Tribal ID, none of the forms of ID you might actually be carrying on a daily basis will cut it under the new law Republicans want to pass. Instead, you may need to track down your birth certificate—or shell out for a new copy. Or you may pay $165 at least to get a passport… And let’s talk about what this means for married women: there are 69 million women who have changed their names in this country—I’m one of them. And Republicans are insisting that in addition to providing proof of citizenship, we may have to provide additional documentation like a marriage certificate or something showing the name change. Just my opinion—but it’s not very pro-family of Republicans to throw up roadblocks to keep married women from voting. And let’s talk about voting by mail—because no state votes by mail better than we do in Washington state. Well under this legislation, you’d need to mail a photocopy of an acceptable ID to submit your ballot… This bill is a disaster for democracy and I’m not going to let this get passed into law. I will stay on the Senate floor and debate this bill until the sun comes up if that’s what it takes. But the American people need to recognize that Republicans are serious about trying to nationalize our elections. Trump is serious about taking them over.”
In Washington state, there are currently 1.6 million married women whose names don’t match their birth certificates. The SAVE America Act would create additional administrative barriers for these women to register to vote and require all voters to include a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID in the envelope returning their ballot—every election. This will make it more difficult for local county officials to handle and count ballots efficiently. It would also require Americans to register to vote in person with an acceptable photo ID and with proof of citizenship, a driver’s license, tribal ID, or military ID would not be sufficient on their own.
Trump and Republicans are using conspiracy theories to justify making it harder and more expensive for Americans to vote. The SAVE America Act would dismantle the safe, proven systems millions of Americans rely on to register to vote. Republicans want to make online registration, mail registration, and voter registration drives illegal—forcing voters to register in person with documents like a birth certificate or passport, even though about 146 million Americans, roughly half the country, don’t have a passport. A new passport costs $165—Trump and Republicans effectively want to implement a modern-day poll tax. The Save America Act would also hit women especially hard. Millions of women around the country change their last name after marriage, which can make it much harder to produce documents required to register to vote under the new requirement. Under the SAVE America Act, states would share their voter rolls with the DHS SAVE Program and be pushed to remove anyone flagged by that program from the rolls. The SAVE Program would make recommendations on which voters to purge from the rolls based on their database, which was rebuilt by DOGE and has already misidentified U.S. citizens as being ineligible to vote.
“The SAVE America Act is the most dangerous, anti-democratic piece of legislation I have ever seen,” said Mary Hall, Thurston County Auditor. “This bill isn’t about security. It is a burdensome attempt to push millions of eligible voters out of the democratic process. It creates mandates that ignore the reality of how Washington State residents want to vote. From an administrative standpoint, implementing this before a general election is impossible.”
“If this bill becomes law, it would be the first federal voter suppression law ever. Congress is supposed to be protecting the freedom to vote, not undermining it,” said Eliza Sweren-Becker, Deputy Director, Voting Rights and Elections, Democracy at the Brennan Center.
Senator Murray believes that the right to vote is essential to making sure our democracy stays a democracy. The ability for people to use their voice and their vote to have a say in our government is foundational, and that means people have to have the power in our elections—not special interests, dark money, or just those at the very top. Senator Murray is working to use every legislative tool available to strengthen voting rights and protect every American’s right to have their voice heard in our democracy. As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray continues to ensure that election security is prioritized. In FY 2026, Murray secured $45 million for election security grants for states and U.S. territories, a $30 million increase over fiscal year 2025—to improve the administration of federal elections, upgrade voting equipment, make security enhancements, and protect Americans’ right to have their vote counted in free and fair elections. In 2023, Senator Murray cosponsored the Freedom to Vote Act, legislation to improve access to the ballot for Americans, advance commonsense federal election standards and campaign finance reforms, and protect our democracy.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:
“Unfortunately, we’re here to talk about how the delusions of one President have pushed a major American political party to try—in the most ham-handed way possible—to nationalize our elections. Republicans are charging ahead to jam through the so-called SAVE America Act, with no regard for common sense, cost, or our democracy and our values.
“This push on this bill isn’t going to save anyone, but it is
going to make it more expensive and harder to vote for everyone. You
might as well call it the Suppressing American Voters Effectively Act.
“So
how did we get here? Since 2020, President Trump has ranted and raved
about how the election was stolen from him.It’s important to know that
Trump’s conspiracy theories were soundly and thoroughly debunked—by
Republican election officials,by journalists on all sides, and,
importantly, by the courts.
“But here’s the thing about Trump’s inner circle, they were cowards by every measure that mattered, they were cynical enough to just go along with him—never mind the catastrophic damage being done to our democracy.
“Worse, many of them aggressively championed this false cause—that election fraud is rampant, and Trump had the 2020 election stolen from him. To this day, in our Senate hearings, Trump administration nominees will twist themselves into pretzels when you ask them if the 2020 election was stolen. They will dance around giving an honest answer for fear of angering the President. It is a really pathetic display.
“But that dynamic is key to understanding why Congressional Republicans are focused on passing this dumbfounding voter suppression bill, instead of addressing the urgent crises we face like, oh, I don’t know funding TSA, conducting even basic oversight of the war with Iran, or working with Democrats to lower costs.
“Well now we’re here. The bill is on the Senate floor. So, let’s talk about it. Everyone should know how this bill is going to make their life worse.
“First off, you’re going to have to dig up, or pay for, all kinds of paperwork you honestly may not even have anymore. If you’re registering to vote for the first time, or moved to Washington state, and are registering to vote here for the first time, you’re going to have to do that in person now. That really makes no sense. This bill is not solving problems—it is creating them.
“And guess what: your Real ID, your driver’s license, student ID, or even Tribal ID, none of the forms of ID you might actually be carrying on a daily basis will cut it under the new law Republicans want to pass. Instead, you may need to track down your birth certificate—or shell out for a new copy. Or you may pay $165 at least to get a passport. Half of all Americans do not even have a passport. And 21 million Americans do not have easy access to the other kinds of documentation they need to prove their citizenship.
“And let’s talk about what this means for married women:
there are 69 million women who have changed their names in this
country—I’m one of them. And Republicans are insisting that in addition
to providing proof of citizenship, we may have to provide additional
documentation like a marriage certificate or something showing the name
change. Just my opinion—but it’s not very pro-family of Republicans to throw up roadblocks to keep married women from voting.
“And
let’s talk about voting by mail—because no state votes by mail better
than we do in Washington state. Well under this legislation, you’d need
to mail a photocopy of an acceptable ID to request your ballot and again
to submit your ballot. Sorry, but who even owns a photocopier anymore?
“This is all so absurd—to say nothing about how this President wants to ban all voting by mail. Forget the fact that Trump himself has voted by mail plenty of times.
“Look, I got into politics to help people and solve problems. This bill creates problems and helps no one.
“Voter fraud is not a real issue we have yet to solve—because it is already incredibly rare and it is already illegal—if you try to commit voter fraud you can already be put in jail. But I cannot overstate how rarely this happens. The average American is more likely to be struck by lightning than they are to commit voter fraud—seriously. That is a real stat.
“And here’s the thing: many of my Republican colleagues recognize that none of this is necessary or practical to force on our states. But they are going along to get along with this President—and in some ways, that’s a whole lot worse.
“So, here’s where the rubber hits the road: this bill is a disaster for democracy and I’m not going to let this get passed into law. I will stay on the Senate floor and debate this bill until the sun comes up if that’s what it takes.
“But the American people need to recognize that Republicans are serious about trying to nationalize our elections. Trump is serious about taking them over.
“So that’s why I’m here today. To get the word out. And I’m pleased to be joined by some experts—people who really understand the nuts and bolts of democracy.
“So, with that, I’m very pleased to introduce Mary Hall, she is the auditor for Thurston County. Mary is someone who is highly regarded by both sides—that’s the way it should be. Administering elections is not partisan and it never should be.
“So, Mary thank you for joining me today, and with that I am going to turn this over to you.”
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