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Day: 9 October 2015

Discovery sheds new light on the minds of dinosaurs

A recent digital reconstruction of a rare dinosaur braincase has shed new light on inner workings of the dinosaur brain.

The reconstruction and subsequent report centres around the 2007 discovery of a braincase in Eastern Spain’s “Lo Hueco” excavation site. Research has since been conducted on the specimen by a team of researchers led by the University of Manchester’s Dr. Fabien Knoll.

This 72 million-year-old Titanosaur braincase is one of the most complete dinosaur skulls ever unearthed in Europe. Knoll was present for the excavation along with two other authors of the report, Francisco Ortega and Jose Luis Sanz. “In the field,” Knoll told us, “it was not possible to tell that the specimen was so complete.”

Dinosaur braincases are generally not well preserved, and as such we know little about the brain and thus the cognition that occurred in these animals. Knoll explains how “a braincase is the only part of a dinosaur skeleton that allows the reconstruction of a soft organ… and what an organ! The brain no less!”

It is for this reason that this discovery is of such importance, as the reconstruction of the brain provides important glimpses into how these creatures saw, thought, and sensed the world around them.

Following the excavation, Knoll was joined by Ortega, Luis Sanz, and two experts on 3D reconstruction from Ohio University in the United States. After removing any trace material from the specimen, a series of CT scans were conducted on the braincase to begin the difficult process of digital reconstruction.

CT scans such as these are performed in order to visualise the cavities within the braincase and paint a complete picture of the specimen.

Not only did the team do this and completely reconstruct the cavity in which the brain lay, but they have mapped out the passage of the cranial nerves, as well as the inner portion of the ear.

After eight years of work, the team’s findings were published this last week in a journal article in PLOS ONE.

UKIP: A force for good in British politics?

On the 8th of October the Manchester Debating Union presented the question of whether or not UKIP is a force for good in British politics.

Dr. Rob Ford, a senior lecturer in Politics at Manchester, and author of ‘Revolt on the Right: Explaining Support for the Radical Right in Britain’, speaking for the proposition, began the debate arguing that UKIP’s presence on the British political scene was essential for a ‘strong democracy’. Although Dr. Ford stated that he did not agree with all of UKIP’s policies, he claimed that excluding UKIP from British politics was undemocratic and “not healthy for the political conversation.”

Ford also contended that UKIP’s emphasis on previously neglected issues, like British membership of the EU and immigration, have transformed them into central debates which all the mainstream parties are now forced to respond to.

Steven Woolfe, UKIP MEP and UKIP’s immigration spokesman, speaking for the proposition, attempted to dispel the image of UKIP as being a source of racism, sexism and political extremism by referring to his mixed ancestry including Black and Jewish heritage. Woolfe also referred to Susan Evans, the UKIP Party Secretary and author of the UKIP manifesto whose importance to UKIP, Woolfe argued, proved the lack of sexist ideas in the party.

For the opposition, Becky Montacute, former President of the MDU, contended that Dr. Ford’s claims that UKIP has brought issues like immigration to the mainstream debate was incorrect. Montacute maintained that all UKIP had achieved was the creation of “unhelpful discussions.” She argued that UKIP was encouraging the unemployed and other vulnerable sections of the electorate to blame economic problems on immigrants.

Student Conor Ardill, also speaking for the opposition, stated that UKIP has not increased the engagement of the public in politics which Dr. Ford argued was the case. Ardill used the 2015 General Election to show that voter turnout only went up by 1 per cent and that therefore UKIP has not attracted a new, previously ignored electorate.

Questions from the audience included if the panel thought that UKIP represented the views of the electorate that supported them. Dr. Ford asserted that UKIP’s anti-EU stance clearly represented the views of those voters wanting to withdraw from Europe. However, Connor Ardill reasoned that the inconsistencies in different UKIP MPs’ rhetoric, particularly with how comments on immigration varied, showed a lack of clear representation for UKIP voters.

In the exit poll the house concluded that UKIP was a force for good in British politics, with the proposition gaining 47 per cent of the audience vote.