Strange birds
The Sint-Pietersberg is well-known as the finding place of the Mosasaur, the large marine reptile of which several fossil specimens were excavated in the ENCI quarries. But the hill contains more underground surprises. What would you say about the ‘wonder chicken’ or a bird with teeth? Two Dutch amateur palaeontologists found the fossils of these strange birds back in 2000, in the limestone on the Belgian side. A recent CT scan investigation by palaeontologists from Maastricht and Cambridge revealed that these were the remains of two unknown extinct bird species.
And not just any species. According to the researchers, the Janavis finalidens, the discovery of which was published in the journal Nature at the end of last year, is the youngest known bird with teeth (i.e., other species that were discovered with a beak filled with teeth became extinct much earlier). The Asteriornis maastrichtensis, which already made the news in 2020 and was then renamed a wonder chicken, is regarded as the last common ancestor of the today’s chickens and ducks. Both birds scratched around almost 70 million years ago at the spot that would become known as the Sint-Pietersberg.
In the meantime, the fossils are back in Maastricht, after their trip to England for examination. The Natural History Museum is celebrating this memorable fact with a temporary exhibition, named Wonderchicken & Co, where the remains can be admired until 7 May.
Reorganisation – FTEs or books?
Where will they put all the books? That has been a worrisome thought for the 113 employees from the Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS) recently. The institute is moving, sister newspaper Mare writes, and that is not without problems.
In the new building, employees will actually have to share their rooms and there is less storage space. It is especially the latter that is the problem; LIAS employees turn out to have a disproportionate collection of books. These are often the only source of research, said a faculty council member there. “People want to have them within reach. These are often unique books that are not available at the university library or online.”
But “a twenty-metre-long bookcase is no longer realistic in 2024 (the year in which the new building will be completed, ed.)”, said housing advisor Elisa Meijer. According to dean Mark Rutgers, it is take it or leave it: either we have less room, or less staff. “The alternative is that you fire staff in order to create more room.” There are reassuring words from Meijer too. “We know that there is a need for bookcases, and we are going to find a solution. Not always in one’s own room, but perhaps in the same building.”
Falsehood reigns?
Is it possible to present scientific results convincingly to a broad audience when you yourself believe in unscientific ideas? According to Hearst, publisher of the Dutch popular science magazine Quest, you apparently can. Last summer, the publisher appointed a new editor-in-chief for the journal in the person of Lyn Kuyper. That choice was unacceptable for a large number of the editors, appeared from interviews by de Volkskrant and Villamedia with what are now former Quest employees.
Kuyper is actually an ardent circulator of pseudoscientific ideas, say the former editors. For example, she wrote on Instagram, (on which has now become a shielded private account) that ‘studies’ have shown that rice would become mildewed more quickly if you were unkind to it. In addition, she is a ‘coach’ for an unscientific lifestyle group and she supposedly said to colleagues that “you can’t die from” Covid.
Of course, this is allowed, but it doesn’t fit in with the scientific image of the magazine, was the criticism that the editors put before the publisher. According to the latter, however, this did fit in with “a policy of diversity and inclusivity” in which “respecting and listening to each other’s vision and opinion could lead to new mutual insights”. This did not go down well with the editors. “I feel it is not permissible that in times of social polarisation and open doubts about science, you would put someone in charge (...) who has such ideas,” one of them said to de Volkskrant.
By now – after a considerable reorganisation – almost all of the editors have left Quest. The editor in chief? She remained.