Here’s the Real Science Behind Jurassic World

https://portside.org/2018-06-22/heres-real-science-behind-jurassic-world
Portside Date:
Author: Joshua A. Krisch
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Vocativ

Jurassic World isn’t real. There, we said it. But Jurassic World’s undisputed status as fiction hasn’t stopped armchair scientists from declaring war on director Colin Trevorrow for completely ignoring the fact that real dinosaurs had feathers. Just like in Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs in the movie don’t have feathers (presumably because real dinosaurs looked stupid).

But nobody’s talking about the rest of the science. Can we clone dinosaurs? Would ankylosaurus smack down an Indominus Rex? Were pteranodons always scarier than Hitchcock’s birds? What the heck was a Mosasaur, and can I have one? To find out more about the science behind Jurassic World, we spoke with Daniel Barta, a PhD student in paleontology at The American Museum of Natural History.

Did Any Of The Dinosaurs Look Right, Or Did Jurassic World Ruin Everything?

 

Tell Us Everything About Velociraptors

 

Could I Outrun A Tyrannosaurus Rex?

 If you were a real human you'd be dead by now.

In the film, velociraptors can run up to 40-50 mph when hungry, but somehow the humans always get away. What gives? “We do know they were able to run, and some may have reached speeds of 20-30 mph,” Barta says. “But most carnivorous dinosaurs would have been going slower. Recent biomechanical modeling studies have suggested that T-Rex was probably not as fast as the Jurassic Park movie suggests.” So in the first film, when T-Rex chased a jeep, that was a big, prehistoric, Hollywood stretch.

What The Heck Was A Mosasaur?

 

Could Pteranodons Pluck Humans Out Of The Water?

 

The Herbivores Seem So Gentle. Is That Realistic?

 

Can We Clone Dinosaurs? Are We Even Close?

 


Source URL: https://portside.org/2018-06-22/heres-real-science-behind-jurassic-world