Science Friday – How Big Dino Domes Might’ve Saved Today’s Bird Brains

Did larger brains help modern-day birds avoid mass extinction? Hear from evolutionary biology experts Julia Clarke and Chris Torres and ask them your questions.


What Was Poppin’ In Prehistoric America? with Dr. Julia Clarke

On this episode of Getting Curious, we’re digging deep with Dr. Julia Clarke, Wilson Professor of Paleontology at The University of Texas at Austin and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. She and Jonathan get to the bottom of how Texas looked 250 million years ago, which dinosaurs roamed prehistoric America, and what Pangaea’s got to do with the age of dinosaurs.

- Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness


Tyrannosaurus FX

When you imagine the sound of a dinosaur, you probably think of a scene from the Jurassic Park movies. How do sound designers make these extinct creatures sound so believably alive? And what does modern paleontology tell us about what dinosaurs REALLY sounded like? Featuring Jurassic World sound designer Al Nelson, and paleontologist Julia Clarke.

- Twenty Thousand Hertz


Great Transitions: The Origin of Birds

In the second film of the Great Transitions trilogy, paleontologist Julia Clarke takes us on a journey to uncover the evidence that birds descended from dinosaurs.

- HHMI Biointeractive


Living Dinosaurs

Julia Clarke talks about her research on the origin of birds.

- Denver Museum of Nature & Science


Microraptor Suggests Feathers Evolved to Attract Mates

Julia Clarke discusses how a tail shape with feathers may have originated as a function of communication rather than aerodynamics, which came later in the evolution of flight.

- The University of Texas at Austin


5-Foot Penguin Fossil Discovered

Scientists have unearthed fossilized remains of a 5-foot-tall penguin in present-day Peru. The 36-million-year-old fossil sheds light on bird evolution, according to National Geographic grantee Julia Clarke.

- The University of Texas at Austin


Dinosaurs Alive

Journey with some of the world’s preeminent paleontologists as they uncover evidence that the descendents of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us.

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The Four-Winged Dinosaur

Surprising fossils from northeastern China spur a debate over how birds evolved.

Read the program transcript →