STUDY BREAK

CROSSWORD study break | 8 F eb 2023 exhibit | 27

Across

1 Woody perennial plant (4)

3 More diluted — tear wire (anagram) (8)

9 Fun do (anagram) — ballet movement (5)

10 Earnest — sincere (7)

11 Paper handkerchief (6)

12 Long (for) (5)

14 Money-making enterprise (informal) (6)

16 Not witnessed (6)

19 Possessor (5)

21 Ban — bandit (6)

24 Stress — intones (anagram) (7)

25 Atmospheric gas (5)

26 Garment — pockets (8)

27 Camera part (4)

1 Petty argument (4)

2 Boredom — i.e. nun (anagram) (5)

4 Response (6)

5 Before time (5)

6 Set apart (7)

7 Deep — ringing (8)

8 Sharp struggle (6)

13 Balloonist — a toaster? (anagram) (8)

15 Meet suddenly (3,4)

17 Country (6)

18 Temporary car (6)

20 Racecourse barrier — liars!

(anagram) (5)

22 Unaccompanied (5)

23 Current affairs (4)

Across: 1 Tree, 3 Waterier, 9 Fondu, 10 Serious, 11 Tissue, 12 Yearn, 14 Earner, 16 Unseen, 19 Owner, 21 Outlaw, 24 Tension, 25 Ozone, 26 Trousers, 27 Lens. Down: 1 Tiff, 2 Ennui, 4 Answer, 5 Early, 6 Isolate, 7 Resonant, 8 Tussle, 13 Aerostat, 15 Run into, 17 Nation, 18 Loaner, 20 Rails, 22 Alone, 23 News.

Trivia: 1. Aquarius 2. 14th Century 3. Polska 4. Dogs 5. Saturn 6. A promise

Trivia Corner

1. What star sign is represented by the water bearer?

2. In what century did Valentine’s Day become a holiday associated with love?

3. What is the name of Poland in Polish?

4. What is cynophobia the fear of?

5. What planet has the most moons?

6. What can be broken and never held?

Science

SCIENCE EDITORS: Daniel Pain and Hayley Power

Eloise Shewring explains recent research timelining the evolution of the dinosaurs

MORE ‘clues’ to unfold the timeline of dinosaurs’ theorised transition into the bird species can be found in the recent discovery of dove-sized Cratonavis zhui fossils. Researchers report, in the January edition of Nature Ecology & Evolution, that the 120–million–year–old fossil bird, which was discovered in China, comprises of a dinosaur–like head with a more bird–like body. In fact, CT scans show the near structural identicality of its skull to the Tyrannosaurus Rex and other therapod dinosaurs, as palaeontologist Li Zhiheng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and colleagues reports. This illus-

T

trates its phylogenetic status in that Cratonavis had not evolved the mobile upper jaw that is present in modern birds, so is a significant discovery for evolutionary study.

A dinosaur-like head with a more bird-like body

The fossil came from the Jiufotang Formation in north–eastern China, which is known as a hotbed for preserved feathered dinosaurs and archaic birds and is part of a recently identified group of intermediate birds known as the jinguo- fortisids (Luis Chiappe — paleontologist at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County). Chiappe states that, whilst interesting, this discovery is “not unexpected”: The majority of birds discovered from the Age of Dinosaurs had more primitive heads than modern birds.

A hotbed for preserved feathered dinosaurs and archaic birds

Cratonavis has visible structures that are rarely seen in Cretaceous birds, such as

Binary stars could be the key to Earth-like planets