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<ul class="summary-list"><li>A new species of ancient whale, Perucetus colossus, was a giant of the ocean. </li><li>It may have weighed twice as much as a blue whale because of its dense bones.</li></ul>Roughly 39 million years ago, a slow-moving giant glided in shallow, coastal waters, potentially feeding on mollusks and crustaceans.In 2010, paleontologist Mario Urbina found fossilized remains of this ancient animal, a new species of basilosaurid whale called Perucetus colossus.The remains were unusual, gigantic bones in the Pisco Basin in southwestern Peru. The partial skeleton included 13 vertebrae, four ribs, and a hip bone.After excavating the bones, measuring them, and comparing them to other species, researchers have now estimated the ancient animal could have weighed as much as 340 tons. That's nearly as heavy as a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/boeing-747-jumbo-jet-travel/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boeing 747</a> or twice as much as a blue whale, which typically <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/bluewhale/ocean/record-breaker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weighs between</a> 72 and 180 tons.Its massive weight is likely thanks to its uncommonly thick bones. The researchers described their findings in a new paper in the journal <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=96ddb397d85c382a6c3552d0e625fcfa12d3f358e024479fc4298558f88cc532&amp;postID=64c98519cfd91a08ec427262&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41586-023-06381-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nature</a>. The discovery is significant because it shows that some early whales evolved to be gigantic millions differently, and much earlier, than the modern behemoths. For comparison, baleen whales like blue whales started expanding to huge proportions <a href="https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/marine-mammals/when-did-todays-whales-get-so-big#:~:text=But%20baleen%20whales%20didn't,size%2030%20million%20years%20ago." target="_blank" rel="noopener">around 5 million years ago</a>, roughly 34 million years after P. colossus."This giant basilosaurid lived a long time before the emergence of giant baleen whales, and if our ecological hypothesis is correct, in a completely different environment," Olivier Lambert, one of the authors of the paper, told Insider via email.<h2>How to weigh an enormous skeleton </h2><div type="image" title="Perucetus colossus’ specimen hanging from ropes with three people around it in southern Peru" height="3456" width="4608" msid="102365570" hostid="261"></div>To figure out what P. colossus may have weighed, the researchers scanned the bones' surface and examined their interior structure.However, since it was only a partial skeleton, there were several estimations they had to make like relying on the proportions of a close relative, Cynthiacetus peruvianus, to determine the overall size.They also used the mass-to-body ratio of manatees, beaked whales, and cetaceans to guesstimate the amount of blubber and soft tissue the ancient animal would have had to calculate its weight while alive.The resulting values put the final tons between 85 and 340. Even at the low end, P. colossus would be on par with some blue whales. And at the high-end, it shatters records of how large we thought the largest animal was on Earth. But scientists will need to find a more-complete skeleton before dethroning the blue whale.Other key features, like P. colossus's skull and teeth, are missing, so researchers can't say much about what it ate. But due to its size, it likely couldn't catch quick prey.Additionally, researchers believe the whale's body swept to its final resting place and may not have lived in the environment where it was fossilized. That means the other fossils retrieved from the area may not offer clues to how P. colossus lived. <h2>P. colossus had big bones and probably tiny limbs</h2>Cetaceans are the aquatic mammal family that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. About 50 million years ago, their ancestors branched off from land ungulates, or hoofed mammals, and went back to the water.The transition required adaptations. As some species acclimated to sea environments, they developed bones that were denser and less spongy than their modern counterparts. By the time P. colossus arrived, roughly 11 million years later, it was fully aquatic. At an estimated 65 feet, this P. colossus isn't as long as some blue whale skeletons, like the 72-foot specimen at the <a href="https://www.sbnature.org/visit/exhibitions/58/blue-whale-skeleton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History</a>. It's the colossus's bones themselves that add the suspected extra tonnage. The P. colossus skeleton shows evidence of pachyosteosclerosis, a condition where the bones thicken with extra layers and become denser with reduced internal cavities, helping to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118409" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regulate buoyancy</a>. "In addition to being very large, these vertebrae are extremely thickened, more than in any other marine mammal, and made of highly compact bone, which further participates to the surprisingly high skeletal weight," said Lambert. Each vertebra weighs over 220 pounds.<div type="image" title="A 3D model of what a complete skeleton of the new species, Perucetus colossus, would look like, against a black background above Cynthiacetus peruvianus and the Wexford blue whale skeletons" height="1500" width="2000" msid="102365571" hostid="261"></div>Its cumbersome weight would have made it difficult to move on land. The researchers propose the animal was fully aquatic and lived in shallow water. Similar to how <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17601944/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some manatees move</a>, the P. colossus likely swam by undulating its body. It also could have used its forelimbs and tail fluke to propel itself along the bottom of the seafloor, as sea cows do. Over the course of millions of years, cetaceans completely <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9143876/#:~:text=The%20Cetacea%20are%20group%20of,limb%20buds%20are%20temporarily%20present." target="_blank" rel="noopener">lost their hind limbs</a> and their <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17721984/#:~:text=The%20forelimb%20of%20cetaceans%20(whales,a%20hydrofoil%20to%20generate%20lift." target="_blank" rel="noopener">forelimbs became flippers</a>. No limbs were found near the P. colossus skeleton, but fossilized evidence suggests it likely had both front and back legs. The innominate or hip bone shows evidence of where a femur was attached. "We can tell that a tiny hind limb was still present, as in other basilosaurids like Basilosaurus and Cynthiacetus," said Lambert.Researchers based the limbs' appearance in the reconstruction on these other species. Whether this behemoth was bobbing along the bottom of the sea, munching on mollusks, it's all hypothetical until more specimens are found.

The partial skeleton of an ancient whale shows it could've weighed nearly as much as a Boeing 747, making it one of the heaviest animals ever

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div>David Paul, Museum VictoriaA giant <keyword id="3703" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Squid">squid</keyword> being dissected after washing ashore.</div>You'd think that the more we studied a mysterious species like the giant squid, the more we'd understand its unique <keyword id="6502723" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="biology">biology</keyword> and physiology. But today, researchers unveiled new genetic data on the giant squid that just makes us even more confused.
Interestingly, the <keyword id="6371668" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="animals">animals</keyword> seem to have just one global population. This has never been seen before in ocean-living species. Usually animals that live in the oceans end up genetically segregating into sub-species over time as they spread out around the globe. Not so for the enigmatic giant squid.
The giant squid, known to researchers by its scientific name Architeuthis dux, was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/japan-scientists-film-massive-legendary-squid-in-pacific-depths-2013-1">first filmed alive in its natural habitat last year</a>, more than 150 years after the first specimen was discovered.
Though it has been a big feature in sea lore — in sailors' tales and stories of Jules Verne and Herman Melville — we still know little about it.
What we know comes from parts of the animal that have washed ashore dead or have been found in the stomachs of their main predator, the sperm whale.
As far as researchers know, the animal has 10 arms, and can grow to more than 40- feet long. Fully grown, it can weigh 2,000 pounds. They eat everything from fish to other giant squid. They are an active and surprisingly strong predator.
<div class="image-container float_left" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div>Mark Norman, Museum VictoriaThe giant squid's tentacles are covered in suction cups. </div>The first video of the animal in its natural habitat was taken more than 2,000 feet below the surface of the <keyword id="53745" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ocean">ocean</keyword>, off the coast of Japan. It took more than 400 hours of diving and filming to finally capture the video. 
The researchers studied 43 specimens from from all over the world — New Zealand, South Africa, Florida, California and more — to analyze their DNA. They relied on the genome of the mitochondria — the cells' powerhouses — to compare individuals. These genomes live outside of the nucleus — the brain of the cell — and are passed down from mother to offspring.
They found that no matter where the animals washed up they seem to be very similar, genetically.
The researchers think that the squid might live in shallower waters while they are younger, floating the global ocean currents. When they get old enough they sink down to deeper waters to mate and live and feed off of larger prey, releasing their offspring into the global currents once again to repeat the cycle.
The researchers also think this might mean that the squid's populations could have expanded rapidly — possibly because of overfishing of <keyword id="134816" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Whales">whales</keyword> in the 1700 and 1800s — but that's likely too recent to result in such a drastic change. They say that climate change at the end of the last Ice Age could have impacted the number of predatory fish that prey on the giant squid.
The study was published March 20 in the journal <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rspb.2013.0273">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>. For a parting shot, here's the giant squid's beak. <div class="image-container float_right" style="width:620px"><div class="image"></div>David Paul, Museum VictoriaThe giant squid's razor-sharp beak is fed animal bits by its tentacles. The beak shreds the food into bite-size bits. </div>

DNA Analysis Makes The Giant Squid Even More Mysterious

<ul><li><keyword id="6409874" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="astrazeneca">AstraZeneca</keyword> has announced that it will be testing different combinations of the COVID-19 vaccine with Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, which is developing the <keyword id="9739494" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sputnik-v-vaccine">Sputnik V vaccine</keyword>. </li><li>This comes after the UK government said that AstraZeneca will be conducting a ‘mix and match’ trial with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate starting January 2021.</li><li>According to AstraZeneca, testing out different vaccine combinations gives patients and doctors a wider choice of prevention approaches. </li></ul>AstraZeneca, which is currently developing a COVID-19 vaccine with Oxford University, has announced plans to test different vaccine combinations with the Gamaleya Institute. They are the developers behind Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="79365393" title="Oxford and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is 70% effective — India may authorise emergency use after UK nod" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> This comes after the head of the UK’s vaccine taskforce Kate Bingham <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/the-pfizer-and-astrazeneca-covid-19-shots-will-be-combined-in-a-mix-and-match-trial-to-see-if-the-2-vaccines-together-produce-a-stronger-immune-response/articleshow/79625869.cms">announced</a> another ‘mix and match’ trial between <keyword id="10415855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="astrazeneca-and-pfizer">AstraZeneca and Pfizer</keyword>’s COVID-19 vaccines earlier this week. The trial will test whether combining the doses from developers would work better than administering them individually. The push on combining different COVID-19 vaccine stems from the fact they could potentially provide patients and doctors with a wider choice of prevention approaches, according to <a href="https://www.astrazeneca.ru/content/az-ru/media/news/2020/20201211-ru201.html">AstraZeneca</a>. Meanwhile, the vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is yet to get approval from regulatory authorities for emergency use, including India. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="79371741" title="The Oxford COVID-19 vaccine will only cost the Indian government $3 per dose, reveals Adar Poonawalla" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Sputnik V-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine combinations Russia’s Gamaleya Institute had reached out to AstraZeneca on Twitter last month to ask whether the two should come together to try and boost the vaccine’s effectiveness. Enrollment for the Sputnik V-AstraZeneca clinical trials will kick-off <a href="https://www.astrazeneca.ru/content/az-ru/media/news/2020/20201211-ru201.html">starting today</a>. The Russian Direct Investment Fund, the county’s sovereign wealth fund which has funded the development of Sputnik V, believes that testing of the AstraZeneca’s vaccine in combination with its own will begin by the end of the month. This is around the same time that the Pfizer-AstraZeneca combination trials also expected to occur. The patients will receive one dose of the <keyword id="9655003" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="pfizer-vaccine">Pfizer vaccine</keyword> and another shot of the vaccine being made by AstraZeneca. “Being able to combine different COVID-19 vaccines may be helpful to improved protection and/or to improve vaccine accessibility. This is why it is important to explore different vaccine combinations to help make immunisation programmes more flexible, by allowing physicians greater choice at the time of administering vaccines,” the company said in a statement. In India, the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University will be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. It’s the preferred vaccine candidate as compared to Pfizer and Moderna due to its ability to survive in warmer temperatures, putting less of a strain on India’s limited cold storage infrastructure. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/carbon-emissions-in-india-show-third-highest-drop-after-us-and-europe-in-2020-thanks-to-covid-19-lockdowns/articleshow/79673023.cms">Carbon emissions in India show third-highest drop after US and Europe in 2020 — thanks to COVID-19 lockdowns</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/new-species-are-more-likely-to-emerge-in-extreme-environment-coldspots-rather-than-hotspots-like-the-amazon-rainforest/articleshow/79665428.cms">New species are more likely to emerge in extreme environment ‘coldspots’ rather than ‘hotspots’ like the Amazon rainforest</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/as-rare-as-a-unicorn-a-new-horse-sized-species-of-the-beaked-whale-spotted-off-the-coast-of-mexico/articleshow/79665103.cms">As rare as a ‘unicorn’ — a new horse-sized species of the beaked whale spotted off the coast of Mexico</a>

After Pfizer, AstraZeneca plans to test COVID-19 vaccine combinations with Russia’s Sputnik V developers

<ul><li>A new malware dubbed Adrozek by Microsoft is affecting three of the most popular web browsers in the world — <keyword id="182214" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-Chrome">Google Chrome</keyword>, <keyword id="160304" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mozilla-Firefox">Mozilla Firefox</keyword> and <keyword id="2830338" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="microsoft-edge">Microsoft Edge</keyword>. </li><li>The malware is capable of messing with your browser’s security settings, installing fake extensions, and ultimately pushing out more ads amid your search results. </li><li>Users in India, Europe and Southeast Asia are among the most impacted by the new malware. </li></ul>It doesn’t matter if you’re using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Yandex Browser — a new malware campaign doesn’t differentiate and can infect any unsuspecting browser. The Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team calls this family of malware ‘Adrozek’. It messes with the web browsers’ security, pulls in malicious browser extensions, and makes changes to users’ computers without their consent. And, users in India are among the worst affected. Other places with a heavy concentration of attacks include Europe and Southeast Asia. <div type="image" title="adrozek1" msid="79676822" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Geographic distribution of Adrozek encounters from May to September 2020&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Microsoft claims that Adrozek has been on the prowl since at least May 2020. By August, it was launching attacks against as many as 30,000 devices every day. Its distribution networks sprawl across 159 unique domains. On average, each domain can host an average of 17,3000 unique URLs. These URLs, in turn, can host an average of 15,300 malware samples. That means there’s a grand total of over 42 billion different malware samples just waiting to latch onto their latest victim. Once installed, Adrozek makes multiple changes to browser settings and components. These changes allow the malware to inject ads into search engine result pages. <div type="image" title="adrozek2" msid="79676831" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Comparison of search results pages on an unaffected machine and one with Adrozek running&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Extensions replace toolbars Browsers are among the most popular targets for hackers since the days of yore. Just over a decade ago, unwanted ‘free toolbars’ were the flavour of the season. Installing software from unverified sources could lead to Yahoo becoming the default search engine and no matter times you get your original settings back, the toolbar would just keep returning. While Adrozek doesn’t come with toolbars, it’s installing malicious extensions instead — malicious extensions that look a lot like the real thing. On Chrome, for example, the malware often makes changes to the Chrome Media Router service to install ‘Radioplayer’, which sounds legitimate enough until you actually try and use it. The real danger of Adrozek What makes Adrozek more potent than the other threats hanging out in the dark spaces of the internet is its ability to modify your security settings. “The malware maintains persistence and exfiltrates website credentials, exposing affected devices to additional risks,” Microsoft said in its blog post. And, the fact that it can attack different types of browsers with ease makes it difficult to stop. What do you do if infected with Adrozek? If you think you’re one of the users who has been affected by this new malware, Microsoft recommends re-installing the browser from scratch. It also suggests installing some kind of URL filtering solution that can detect such malware before it’s installed. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/carbon-emissions-in-india-show-third-highest-drop-after-us-and-europe-in-2020-thanks-to-covid-19-lockdowns/articleshow/79673023.cms">Carbon emissions in India show third-highest drop after US and Europe in 2020 — thanks to COVID-19 lockdowns</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/new-species-are-more-likely-to-emerge-in-extreme-environment-coldspots-rather-than-hotspots-like-the-amazon-rainforest/articleshow/79665428.cms">New species are more likely to emerge in extreme environment ‘coldspots’ rather than ‘hotspots’ like the Amazon rainforest</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/as-rare-as-a-unicorn-a-new-horse-sized-species-of-the-beaked-whale-spotted-off-the-coast-of-mexico/articleshow/79665103.cms">As rare as a ‘unicorn’ — a new horse-sized species of the beaked whale spotted off the coast of Mexico</a>

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The partial skeleton of an ancient whale shows it could've weighed nearly as much as a Boeing 747, making it one of the heaviest animals ever

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DNA Analysis Makes The Giant Squid Even More Mysterious

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After Pfizer, AstraZeneca plans to test COVID-19 vaccine combinations with Russia’s Sputnik V developers

Prabhjote Gill

Indian users among the most affected by a new threat that is affecting three of the most popular web browsers in the world

Prabhjote Gill

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