Scientists have long debated whether dinosaurs were cold-blooded, like the reptiles they resemble on the outside, or warm-blooded. Now, it seems that there is finally a definitive answer.
Yale University molecular paleobiologist Jasmina Wiemann has come up with a new method that makes it possible to determine the metabolic rates of dinosaurs from their fossil remains. “We have developed a new proxy that targets the byproducts of molecular aerobic respiration. Aerobic respiration consists of converting oxygen into chemical energy, a cascade of processes that release heat and that end up determining an animal’s ability to actively thermoregulate, “she reviewed.
It was learned that researchers studied waste products, which are formed when oxygen is inhaled by the body and reacts with proteins, sugars and lipids. The amount of these products can indicate whether an animal was cold-blooded or warm-blooded, Sputnik reported.
To examine it, the scientists analyzed the thigh bones of 55 different creatures, from dinosaurs to birds and lizards. The molecules don’t dissolve in water and are well preserved in fossils, so all the researchers had to do was analyze them using infrared spectroscopy.
In that sense, Wiemann indicated that warm-blooded animals need a higher metabolism to generate energy, and it turns out that most dinosaurs were warm-blooded, although there are exceptions, such as the stegosaurus, the triceratops and the hadrosaur.
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