Raptor Relative to Modern Birds?

New York Times, John Noble Wilford writes in his article Tests Confirm T. Rex Kinship With Birds …

In the first analysis of proteins extracted from dinosaur bones, scientists say they have established more firmly than ever that the closest living relatives of the mighty predator Tyrannosaurus rex are modern birds.
The research, being published Friday in the journal Science, yielded the first molecular data confirming the widely held hypothesis of a close dinosaur-bird ancestry, the American scientific team reported. The link was previously suggested by anatomical similarities.
In fact, the scientists said, T. rex shared more of its genetic makeup with ostriches and chickens than with living reptiles, like alligators. On this basis, the research team has redrawn the family tree of major vertebrate groups assigning the dinosaur a new place in evolutionary relationships.
… Dinosaur paleontologists were not surprised by the findings. An accumulation of fossil evidence in recent years had given them increasing confidence that birds descended from certain dinosaurs.

Also see article by Rick Weiss of the Washington Post.

Links:

Dinosaur – Wikipedia
Zoom Dinosaurs – Enchanted Learning
Walking With Dinosaurs – BBC
Dinosauria – University of California
Dinosaurs – National Museum of Natural History
List of Dinosaurs – Wikipedia
Types of Dinosaur – Dinosaur Jungle
Dinosaur Facts, Fossils and Information – dinosaurfact.net
Dinosaurs: Facts and Fiction – US Geological Survey General Interest Publication
Dino Directory – Natural History of Museum
Profiles of over 300 Dinosaurs – Dino Dictionary
Dinosaur Names – University of California
Strangest Dinosaur Names – NeatORama

Myth Blaster – Absolut Vodka Ad Shows Map Depicting Mexico Taking Over US

Recently word has been going around about the Absolut vodka ad – and although I had published something about it, it was embedded in another article – so I added it to Myth Blaster entries …

Myth Blaster Verdict – TRUE.