There can’t be many people who’ve started off thinking about dinosaurs and ended up explaining how we move, but while trying to figure out how cumbersome dinosaurs might have turned, a research team at the University of Utah might have uncovered new information about how our muscles have evolved to help us turn on a penny.
What started off this unusual train of thought? Dino-hips. David Carrier realised that some of the pelvic bones in theropod skeletons were unusually arranged, and he wondered how this would affect the beast’s mobility. If these dinosaurs were carrying most of their weight close to their hips, would that reduce their moment of inertia and make it easier for them to turn? But how do you test this when the species you’re interested in vanished from the planet millions of years ago? Enter nine healthy students, each ready to run and jump like a...
