A perfectly preserved baby dinosaur fossil was discovered curled up inside an egg

Dec 22 2021

A unique fossil of a baby dinosaur curled up in its egg is shedding more light on the evolutionary links between birds and dinosaurs.

The fossil, some 70-million-years-old, preserves the embryonic skeleton of an oviraptorid dinosaur. You don’t have to remember that name though, as it has been nicknamed Baby Yingliang after the name of the Chinese museum which house it.

This is a very lucky find considering that baby dinosaur bones are very small and fragile and are very rarely preserved as fossils. Darla Zelenitsky, associate professor in the geoscience department at the University of Calgary in Canada, said that she has been working on dinosaur eggs for 25 years and has yet to see anything like it.

Up until now, little has been known of what goes on inside a dinosaur egg prior to hatching as there are so few embryonic skeletons.

The egg is around 17 centimetres long, with the dinosaur estimated to be 27 centimetres long from head to tail. Researchers believe that had it grown to adulthood, it would have been two to three meters long.

Researchers discovered that the dinosaur as others of his kind were changing poses in the egg similar to baby birds. All birds evolved directly from two-legged dinosaurs such as this, with some behaviours carrying on to today.

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Young boy who saved his sister spends day with Tom Holland on Spider-Man set

Dec 22 2021

Are you ready for some of the most wholesome content you’ll read about today? Bridger Walker, merely 6 years old, was brutally mauled by a dog after he tried to save his sister from an attack by the canine last year.

When asked why he stepped in, he said that if someone had to die, he thought it should be him. He suffered some brutal injuries, needing 90 stitches on his face alone.

His heroic deed however caught the attention of Tom Holland, the MCU’s veery own Spider-Man, who promised Bridger to take some time and meet the young lad.

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A post shared by Robert Walker, JD (@robertwalker307)

The boy’s father, Robert, posted to Instagram how Tom, Zendaya and the entire Marvel/Sony cast made Bridger’s dream come true. Now 7, Bridger got to be attached to Holland and web-sling through the air.

The father expressed that he was a bit worried that once ‘the curtain of the special effects is lifted’ the kids would be disappointed with the reality behind the movies. However, the opposite was true, giving Bridger the experience of a lifetime.

He also praised Holland and Zendaya as being some of the most graceful actors in all of Hollywood. He even thanked Zendaya for complimenting his daughter’s nails, saying it meant a lot to her.

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Photo Source: robertwalker307 IG

Foreign countries reducing quarantine periods – should Malta follow suit?

Dec 22 2021

This holiday season, a debate has been ongoing as to how long a person should self-isolate if they don’t have any symptoms and are fully vaccinated after testing positive.

US health officials warn that given the highly transmissible Omicron and Delta variants, more people are expected to get infected with the virus. Anyone who has the virus should isolate for 10 full days, current guidance from the US CDC states.

But recent talks indicate that countries are reconsidering this number. In England for example, people who test positive will be able to stop self-isolating up to three days early if they have two negative lateral flow test results.

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed today that those with COVID can leave isolation earlier if they have negative lateral flow tests on days six and seven of their quarantine period.

Elsewhere, Dr Leana Wen, a CNN medical analyst said that ‘we should have as short of a time period needed for isolation as possible for a number of reasons.’

She argued for shorter isolation periods for healthcare workers, who are needed on the workforce. She also said that shorter isolation periods would incentivise people to find out if they’re positive or not.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also revealed to be considering shortening recommended isolation time for those fully vaccinated or even boosted.

Should Malta follow suit and update it’s quarantine measures for those who test positive? The update could potentially change how we view the entire pandemic situation, especially in relation to the economy and mental health issues caused by quarantine.

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Breaking: Justyne Caruana resigns from Education Minister

Dec 22 2021

It has just been confirmed that Education Minister Justyne Caruana has resigned from her post, following a damning report released by the Standards Commissioner.

Prime Minister Robert Abela has accepted Caruana’s resignation, after having recently stated that everyone in government should shoulder responsibility.

This also comes after members of the UHM teacher’s union UPE sent a symbolic ‘pudding’ to the now former education minister. Union of Professional Educators executive head Graham Sansone said this week that Caruana earned the union’s ‘pudina’ for ‘blunder that has irritated so many hard-working educators.’

The Nationalist Party had also written to the Speaker of the House calling for a Standards Committee meeting to be held this week to discuss Caruana. “We believe that the Speaker should take the necessary steps and ensure that the Committee on Standards in Public Life meets urgently.”

Justyne Caruana took to Facebook to announce the resignation. She said that she entered politics to serve and that she was never tied to the seat of power. She therefore felt that this would be the best decision for the government and the Labour Party.

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Photo Source: Justyne Caruana FB, Robert Abela FB