Red Ribbon = Aids/HIV, substance abuse, MADD, DARE, Epidermolysis Bullosa, love, heart disease- (also uses the red dress symbol), Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW),
Pink Ribbon = Breast Cancer, Birth Parents
Orange Ribbon = Hunger, leukemia, cultural diversity and racial tolerance, feral cats, motorcyclist safety, Multiple Sclerosis -wristband only, self injury, Agent Orange exposure
Yellow Ribbon = Support our troops, POW/MIA, suicide prevention, adoptive parents, spina biffida, missing children (amber alert), endometriosis, sarcoma, bladder cancer, liver disease and liver cancer, hydrocephalus or hydrocephaly, hope in general
Green Ribbon = Tissue and organ donation, depression (both adults and children), bipolar disorder, mental health or illness, eye injuries, Tourette's Syndrome, bone marrow transplants and donation, worker and driving safety, glaucoma, missing children, leukemia, environment, kidney cancer or kidney disease, neural tube defects, Mitochondrial Disease, growth and rebuilding, Cerebral Palsy
Dark Blue Ribbon (Navy) = Child abuse prevention, arthritis, free speech, crime victims rights, water quality, colon cancer, hystiocytosis, domestic violence, water safety (flooding, drowning and accidents), Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), interstitial cystitis, Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), Reyes Syndrome, education, short bowel syndrome, Myositis, Leukodystrophy, Hurricane Support, police officers lost in the line of duty (AKA, the Thin Blue Line)
Purple Ribbon = Domestic violence, religious tolerance, animal abuse, the victims of 9/11 (includes police and firefighters), pancreatic cancer, Chron's Disease and colitis, cystic fibrosis, leimyosarcoma, macular degeneration, Sjogren's Syndrome, fibromyalgia, lupus, sarcoidosis, the homeless, thyroid cancer, ADD, ADHD, alzheimers, cancer survivor (this is a general color that anyone who has survived cancer can wear)
White Ribbon = Innocence, victims of terrorism, peace, right to life, diabetes, sexual assault of students, retinal blastoma, alzheimers, adoption, bone disease and bone cancer, anti-child pornography on the internet
Black Ribbon = Mourning, melanoma, anti-gangs, Anti-terrorism in Spain, POW-MIAs, Amish support
Brown Ribbon = Anti-tobacco, colorectal cancer
Gray Ribbon = Diabetes, brain cancer, asthma and allergies
Lime Green Ribbon - Lymphoma, Lyme Disease, Muscular Dystrophy-wristband only, Sandhoff Disease
Teal Ribbon = Ovarian, cervical, uterine (all gynecological) cancers, substance abuse, sexual assault, Myasthenia Gravis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Burgundy Ribbon = Hospice care, multiple myeloma, cesarean sections, headaches and migraines, thrombophilia
Periwinkle = Eating disorders, pulmonary hypertension, stomach cancer, GERD, IBS
Pale Yellow Ribbon = Spina biffida
Peach Ribbon = Uterine Cancer, Endometrial Cancer
Light Green Ribbon = Pelvic Pain (chronic), Celiac Disease
Light Blue Ribbon = Prostate cancer, thyroid disease, lymphedema, Trisomy 18, scleroderma, Graves Disease
Lavender Ribbon = All cancers (general cancer awareness), epilepsy, rett syndrome, foster care
Pearl Ribbon = lung cancer and lung disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Mesothelioma
Silver Ribbon = Children with disabilities, Parkinson's Disease, any diseases or disorders of the brain including strokes, elderly abuse
Gold Ribbon = Childhood Cancer
Clear Ribbon = Lung cancer and lung disease, Multiple Sclerosis (secondary to prism)
Light Baby Pink and Blue Ribbon = Pregnancy and infant loss, SIDS, Male breast cancer
Red and WhiteRibbon = Head and neck cancer, aplastic anemia
Red and Yellow Ribbon = Hepatitis C
Red, White and Blue Ribbon = Patriotism, 9/11 victims
Red and Blue with a Heart Ribbon = Congenital Heart Defects (also red,blue and red stripes)
Blue And Yellow = Down Syndrome, designated drivers (The Hero Campaign)
Purple Ribbon with a Red rose Ribbon = Cystic Fibrosis
Purple And Green Ribbon = Hospice And Pallative Care
Purple And Blue Ribbon = Pediatric Stroke
Purple and Yellow Ribbon = Chemical Injury (any chemical related boo boos)
Jigsaw Puzzle Ribbon = Autism
Orchid and Orange Ribbon = psoriasis
Lime Green and Aqua Ribbon = adult stem cell donor
Teal And Pink Ribbon = Hereditary Breast Cancer or a combo ribbon for gynecological and breast cancers
Black and Pink Ribbon = Bone Marrow Donor, loss of a daughter
Black and Lt. Blue Ribbon = Loss of a son
Black and White Ribbon = Carcinoid Syndrome Cancer (zebra stripes) and anti-racism
Black White And Black (three stripes) Ribbon = Vaccine danger
Gold and Black Ribbon = Platelett donor
Ivory, Burgundy and Ivory Ribbon = Oral head and neck cancer
Yellow, Lime Green, Orange, Aqua, Hot Pink Ribbon = Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Yellow Ribbon = STD awareness
Pink Ribbon :
Meaning: Most commonly associated with breast cancer awareness, this ribbon is also a symbol for birth parents, and childhood cancer awareness (alternative color: light blue)
We also now have a CafePress.com store offering pink ribbon clothing and pink ribbon items for the home and office.
Yellow Ribbon :
Meaning: We've all seen this symbol used to support our troops, but it is also a symbol for MIA/POW, suicide prevention, adoptive parents, amber alerts, bladder cancer, spina bifida, endometriosis, and a general symbol for hope. A yellow ribbon with a heart is used to represent the survivors left behind after a suicide.
Pale Yellow Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of spina bifida
Red Ribbon :
Meaning: Most commonly associated with the fight against AIDS and HIV, this ribbon also is a symbol for heart disease, stroke, substance abuse, MADD, DARE, Epidermolysis Bullosa, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
We also now have a CafePress.com store offering red ribbon clothing and red ribbon items for the home and office.
Burgundy Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of brain aneurysm, Cesarean section (worn upside down), headaches, hemangioma, vascular malformation, hospice care, multiple myeloma, William's syndrome, Thrombophilia, Antiphospholid Antibody Syndrome, and adults with disabilities
Purple Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of pancreatic cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid cancer, domestic violence, ADD, alzheimer's, religious tolerance, animal abuse, the victims of 9/11 including the police and firefighters, Crohn's disease and colitis, cystic fibrosis, lupus, leimyosarcoma, and fibromyalgia
Lavender Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol for general cancer awareness. It can also be a symbol for epilepsy, and rett syndrome
Periwinkle Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of eating disorders and pulmonary hypertension
Blue Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of drunk driving, child abuse, Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), the victims of hurricane Katrina, dystonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), alopecia, Education, Epstein-Barr Virus, Save the Music, colon cancer (alternative ribbon color: brown), colorectal cancer (alternative ribbon color: brown), and anti-tobacco - particularly anti-second hand smoke (in Canada; alternative ribbon color: brown), I Love Clean Air/ILCA Campaign (Japan)
Dark Blue Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of arthritis, child abuse prevention, victim's rights, free speech, water quality, and water safety
Light Blue Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of childhood cancer (alternative color: pink), prostate cancer, Trisomy 18, and scleroderma
Teal Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol for ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancers as well as sexual assault, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and tsunami victims
Green Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of childhood depression, missing children, open records for adoptees, environmental concerns, kidney cancer, tissue/organ donation, homeopathy, and worker and driving safety
Orange Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of leukemia, hunger, cultural diversity, humane treatment of animals, and self-injury awareness
We also now have a CafePress.com store offering orange ribbon clothing and orange ribbon items for the home and office.
White Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of innocence, victims of terrorism, violence against women, peace, right to life, bone cancer, adoptees, and retinal blastoma
Pearl Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol for emphysema, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and multiple sclerosis
Black Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of mourning, melanoma, and gang prevention
Brown Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is an anti-tobacco symbol as well as a symbol of colon cancer (alternative ribbon color: blue), colorectal cancer (alternative ribbon color: blue)
Grey Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol of diabetes, asthma, and brain cancer
Silver Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol for children with disabilities, Parkinson's disease, and mental illnesses such as severe depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders.
Gold Ribbon :
Meaning: This color is a symbol for childhood cancer
Jigsaw Puzzle Ribbon:
Meaning: This style of ribbon is a symbol for autism
Lace Ribbon:
Meaning: This style of ribbon is a symbol for osteoporosis
Pink and Blue Ribbon:
Meaning: This style of ribbon is a symbol for miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death due to SIDS or other causes
Flag Ribbon:
Meaning: This style of ribbon is a symbol for both the victims and heros of the 9/11 attacks. It is also a symbol of patriotism and support of our troops. In addition, it is a symbol of fireworks safety.
Rainbow Ribbon:
Meaning: This style of ribbon is a symbol of gay pride and support for the GLBT community and their quest for equal rights.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Lemon, Rose-Flavored Tomato Developed
Israeli researchers say they have genetically engineered tomatoes to give hints of lemon and rose aromas that have done well in testing on volunteers.
The transgenic tomato includes a gene from a variety of lemon basil, Ocimum basilicum, that produces an aroma-making enzyme called geraniol synthase, Efraim Lewinsohn of Newe Yaar Research Center and colleagues report.
A panel of 82 people have tested the experimental fruit against unmodified counterparts.
Nearly all of them were able to detect novel aromas, which the testers variously described as "perfume," "rose," "geranium" and "lemongrass."
When put to the taste, the GM tomatoes were preferred by 49 members of the panel, while 29 preferred unmodified tomatoes and four expressed no preference.
The GM tomatoes have only a light red color, though, because they have only half as much lycopene as conventional tomatoes. In addition to conferring a bright blush to tomatoes, lycopene is an antioxidant, a compound credited with health-giving qualities.
Offsetting the low levels of lycopene are higher levels of compounds called volatile terpenoids, which possess antimicroial, pesticidal and antifungal qualities, so the GM tomato may have longer shelf life and need less pesticide to grow, Lewinsohn contends.
The team believes that other crops and flowers that, like tomatoes, produce carotenoids, could also be engineered to change their smell and taste.
The first genetically-modified tomato, the so-called FlavrSavr, hit the US market in 1994. It had a modified gene that was involved in fruit softening, meaning that the tomato could be left to ripen on the vine and have a longer shelf life.
FlavrSavr was eventually withdrawn because of disappointing sales.
Today, no genetically modified tomatoes are being commercially grown in the United States, according to (www.gmo-compass.org), a European Commission-backed website for information about GM crops.
Fresh GM tomatoes have never gone in sale in Europe and other markets where there are worries about the environmental and health impact from transgenic food.
The Israeli paper is published online on Sunday by Nature Biotechnology, part of the Nature group of science journals.
Special Thanks to Discovery Channel
The transgenic tomato includes a gene from a variety of lemon basil, Ocimum basilicum, that produces an aroma-making enzyme called geraniol synthase, Efraim Lewinsohn of Newe Yaar Research Center and colleagues report.
A panel of 82 people have tested the experimental fruit against unmodified counterparts.
Nearly all of them were able to detect novel aromas, which the testers variously described as "perfume," "rose," "geranium" and "lemongrass."
When put to the taste, the GM tomatoes were preferred by 49 members of the panel, while 29 preferred unmodified tomatoes and four expressed no preference.
The GM tomatoes have only a light red color, though, because they have only half as much lycopene as conventional tomatoes. In addition to conferring a bright blush to tomatoes, lycopene is an antioxidant, a compound credited with health-giving qualities.
Offsetting the low levels of lycopene are higher levels of compounds called volatile terpenoids, which possess antimicroial, pesticidal and antifungal qualities, so the GM tomato may have longer shelf life and need less pesticide to grow, Lewinsohn contends.
The team believes that other crops and flowers that, like tomatoes, produce carotenoids, could also be engineered to change their smell and taste.
The first genetically-modified tomato, the so-called FlavrSavr, hit the US market in 1994. It had a modified gene that was involved in fruit softening, meaning that the tomato could be left to ripen on the vine and have a longer shelf life.
FlavrSavr was eventually withdrawn because of disappointing sales.
Today, no genetically modified tomatoes are being commercially grown in the United States, according to (www.gmo-compass.org), a European Commission-backed website for information about GM crops.
Fresh GM tomatoes have never gone in sale in Europe and other markets where there are worries about the environmental and health impact from transgenic food.
The Israeli paper is published online on Sunday by Nature Biotechnology, part of the Nature group of science journals.
Special Thanks to Discovery Channel
The Elderberry Way To Perfect Skin
Forget expensive moisturisers and cosmetic surgery, a compound found in the humble elderberry could give a natural boost to skin.
In the first study of its kind, a team of researchers led by Prof Aedin Cassidy at the University of East Anglia and Dr Paul Kroon at the Institute of Food Research, will explore whether the skin's condition is improved by a compound which gives berries their vibrant colour (called 'anthocyanin').
In a 12-week trial starting in September, post-menopausal women will consume either extracts from elderberries or placebo capsules, and will have their skin's structure and appearance measured with state-of-the-art equipment used by experts in skin science. At the same time, researchers will also test whether the elderberry extract can reduce risk factors for heart disease.
"We already know that a healthy diet can help protect against heart disease and skin damage, and that a mixture of similar food components have been shown to improve the skin's structure. There is also evidence that the active components have anti-inflammatory properties, which may be important in helping people stay healthy," said UEA's Dr Peter Curtis who is leading the project.
"If the results of our study are positive, it may lead to innovations in skin health products and may also give us vital information about diets which promote healthier hearts."
Special Thanks to Science Daily
In the first study of its kind, a team of researchers led by Prof Aedin Cassidy at the University of East Anglia and Dr Paul Kroon at the Institute of Food Research, will explore whether the skin's condition is improved by a compound which gives berries their vibrant colour (called 'anthocyanin').
In a 12-week trial starting in September, post-menopausal women will consume either extracts from elderberries or placebo capsules, and will have their skin's structure and appearance measured with state-of-the-art equipment used by experts in skin science. At the same time, researchers will also test whether the elderberry extract can reduce risk factors for heart disease.
"We already know that a healthy diet can help protect against heart disease and skin damage, and that a mixture of similar food components have been shown to improve the skin's structure. There is also evidence that the active components have anti-inflammatory properties, which may be important in helping people stay healthy," said UEA's Dr Peter Curtis who is leading the project.
"If the results of our study are positive, it may lead to innovations in skin health products and may also give us vital information about diets which promote healthier hearts."
Special Thanks to Science Daily
Mother-of-pearl: Classic Beauty And Remarkable Strength
While the shiny material of pearls and abalone shells has long been prized for its iridescence and aesthetic value in jewelry and decorations, scientists admire mother-of-pearl for other physical properties as well.
Also called nacre ("NAY-ker"), mother-of-pearl is 3,000 times more fracture-resistant than the mineral it is made of, aragonite, says Pupa Gilbert, a physicist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "You can go over it with a truck and not break it - you will crumble the outside [of the shell] but not the [nacre] inside. And we don't understand how it forms - that's why it's so fun to study."
Understanding the mechanism by which nacre forms would be the first step toward harnessing its strength and simplicity, she says. "We don't know how to synthesize materials that are better than the sum of their parts."
Writing in the June 29 issue of Physical Review Letters, Gilbert and her colleagues in the UW-Madison department of physics and School of Veterinary Medicine, the Institute for the Physics of Complex Matter in Switzerland and the UW-Madison Synchrotron Radiation Center, now describe unexpected elements of nacre architecture that may underlie its strength and offer clues into how this remarkable material forms.
Like our bones and teeth, nacre is a biomineral, a combination of organic molecules - made by living organisms - and mineral components that organisms ingest or collect from their environment. The aragonite mineral in nacre is made of calcium carbonate, which marine animals form from elements abundant in seawater.
Though a mere 5 percent of abalone nacre is organic, this small fraction somehow lays enough foundation for the mineral components to assemble spontaneously, Gilbert says.
"Ninety-five percent of the mass of this biomineral is self-assembled, while only 5 percent is actively formed by the organism," she says. "It is one of the most efficient mechanisms you can think of."
To gain insight into this self-assembly process, Gilbert and graduate student Rebecca Metzler examined the structure of abalone nacre using synchrotron radiation - light emitted by electrons speeding around a curved track.
When used to examine a cross-section of an abalone shell, previously seen to resemble a brick wall with layers of organic "mortar" separating individual crystalline "bricks," the polarized light from the synchrotron revealed that the nacre wall was not uniform.
Instead, the wall contained distinct clumps of bricks, each an irregular column of crystals with identical composition but a crystal orientation different than neighboring columns.
Since orientation affects how crystals emit electrons, "some of the columns of bricks appear white and others appear black and more appear gray, depending on their crystal orientation," Gilbert explains.
The overall effect resembles a camouflage pattern, each roughly columnar cluster a slightly different shade.
She suggests that this mosaic architecture of nacre, with numerous non-aligned crystals, could lead to a stronger material by preventing the formation of natural cleavage planes - like those that form the facets of a cut diamond - where a single crystal can easily break. "It is intuitive that a poly-crystal is mechanically stronger than a single crystal, so perhaps that is an advantage for the animal," Gilbert says.
With this new information about nacre structure and the help of UW-Madison theoretical physicist Susan Coppersmith, the group turned to modeling to try to understand how such a structure could form.
"By looking at the final result and comparing it to the result of different growth models, you get insight into what the actual mechanism of the growth is," Coppersmith says.
The group developed a model that suggests that the animal creates the organic "mortar" layers first, peppered with randomly distributed crystal nucleation, or seeding, sites.
From their observations, they predict that mineral crystals start growing inside the shell and extend horizontally until they contact another growing crystal and vertically until they hit the overlying mortar. If that crystal contacts another of the scattered crystal formation sites on the next tier up, it should trigger growth of a new crystal with the same crystal orientation, gradually building a rough column of irregular width.
With further experiments, the researchers hope to test and refine their model as well as examine other biominerals, such as human teeth and the nacre of other species such as pearl oysters, mussels, or nautiluses, to improve their understanding of biomineral formation and assembly.
"If you understand how it forms, you could think of reproducing it, producing a synthetic material that's inspired by nature - a so-called 'biomimetic' material," Gilbert explains. "If we learn how to harness the mechanism of formation, then we could, for example, produce cars that absorb all the energy at the impact point but do not fracture.
"But from my point of view, it's most interesting because of the fundamental mechanisms of how it forms - these natural self-assembly mechanisms we are only just beginning to understand."
This work is funded by grants from the UW-Madison Graduate School and the National Science Foundation.
Special Thanks to Science Daily
Also called nacre ("NAY-ker"), mother-of-pearl is 3,000 times more fracture-resistant than the mineral it is made of, aragonite, says Pupa Gilbert, a physicist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "You can go over it with a truck and not break it - you will crumble the outside [of the shell] but not the [nacre] inside. And we don't understand how it forms - that's why it's so fun to study."
Understanding the mechanism by which nacre forms would be the first step toward harnessing its strength and simplicity, she says. "We don't know how to synthesize materials that are better than the sum of their parts."
Writing in the June 29 issue of Physical Review Letters, Gilbert and her colleagues in the UW-Madison department of physics and School of Veterinary Medicine, the Institute for the Physics of Complex Matter in Switzerland and the UW-Madison Synchrotron Radiation Center, now describe unexpected elements of nacre architecture that may underlie its strength and offer clues into how this remarkable material forms.
Like our bones and teeth, nacre is a biomineral, a combination of organic molecules - made by living organisms - and mineral components that organisms ingest or collect from their environment. The aragonite mineral in nacre is made of calcium carbonate, which marine animals form from elements abundant in seawater.
Though a mere 5 percent of abalone nacre is organic, this small fraction somehow lays enough foundation for the mineral components to assemble spontaneously, Gilbert says.
"Ninety-five percent of the mass of this biomineral is self-assembled, while only 5 percent is actively formed by the organism," she says. "It is one of the most efficient mechanisms you can think of."
To gain insight into this self-assembly process, Gilbert and graduate student Rebecca Metzler examined the structure of abalone nacre using synchrotron radiation - light emitted by electrons speeding around a curved track.
When used to examine a cross-section of an abalone shell, previously seen to resemble a brick wall with layers of organic "mortar" separating individual crystalline "bricks," the polarized light from the synchrotron revealed that the nacre wall was not uniform.
Instead, the wall contained distinct clumps of bricks, each an irregular column of crystals with identical composition but a crystal orientation different than neighboring columns.
Since orientation affects how crystals emit electrons, "some of the columns of bricks appear white and others appear black and more appear gray, depending on their crystal orientation," Gilbert explains.
The overall effect resembles a camouflage pattern, each roughly columnar cluster a slightly different shade.
She suggests that this mosaic architecture of nacre, with numerous non-aligned crystals, could lead to a stronger material by preventing the formation of natural cleavage planes - like those that form the facets of a cut diamond - where a single crystal can easily break. "It is intuitive that a poly-crystal is mechanically stronger than a single crystal, so perhaps that is an advantage for the animal," Gilbert says.
With this new information about nacre structure and the help of UW-Madison theoretical physicist Susan Coppersmith, the group turned to modeling to try to understand how such a structure could form.
"By looking at the final result and comparing it to the result of different growth models, you get insight into what the actual mechanism of the growth is," Coppersmith says.
The group developed a model that suggests that the animal creates the organic "mortar" layers first, peppered with randomly distributed crystal nucleation, or seeding, sites.
From their observations, they predict that mineral crystals start growing inside the shell and extend horizontally until they contact another growing crystal and vertically until they hit the overlying mortar. If that crystal contacts another of the scattered crystal formation sites on the next tier up, it should trigger growth of a new crystal with the same crystal orientation, gradually building a rough column of irregular width.
With further experiments, the researchers hope to test and refine their model as well as examine other biominerals, such as human teeth and the nacre of other species such as pearl oysters, mussels, or nautiluses, to improve their understanding of biomineral formation and assembly.
"If you understand how it forms, you could think of reproducing it, producing a synthetic material that's inspired by nature - a so-called 'biomimetic' material," Gilbert explains. "If we learn how to harness the mechanism of formation, then we could, for example, produce cars that absorb all the energy at the impact point but do not fracture.
"But from my point of view, it's most interesting because of the fundamental mechanisms of how it forms - these natural self-assembly mechanisms we are only just beginning to understand."
This work is funded by grants from the UW-Madison Graduate School and the National Science Foundation.
Special Thanks to Science Daily
Chinese Villagers Eat Dino Bones
Villagers in central China dug up a ton of dinosaur bones and boiled them in soup or ground them into powder for traditional medicine, believing they were from flying dragons and had healing powers.
Until last year, the fossils were being sold in Henan province as "dragon bones" at about 4 yuan (50 cents) per kilogram (2.2 pounds), scientist Dong Zhiming said Wednesday.
Dong, a professor with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said when the villagers found out the bones were from dinosaurs they donated 440 pounds to him and his colleagues for research.
"They had believed that the 'dragon bones' were from the dragons flying in the sky," he said.
The calcium-rich bones were sometimes boiled with other ingredients and fed to children as a treatment for dizziness and leg cramps. Other times they were ground up and made into a paste that was applied directly to fractures and other injuries, he said.
The practice had been going on for at least two decades, he said.
Dong was among a team of scientists who recently excavated in Henan's Ruyang County an 60-foot-long plant-eating dinosaur, which lived 85 million to 100 million years ago. Local officials held a news conference Tuesday, showing off the find to the public for the first time.
Another two dinosaur fossils were being excavated in the area, which is rich in fossilized dinosaur eggs, Dong said.
Special Thank to Discovery
Until last year, the fossils were being sold in Henan province as "dragon bones" at about 4 yuan (50 cents) per kilogram (2.2 pounds), scientist Dong Zhiming said Wednesday.
Dong, a professor with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said when the villagers found out the bones were from dinosaurs they donated 440 pounds to him and his colleagues for research.
"They had believed that the 'dragon bones' were from the dragons flying in the sky," he said.
The calcium-rich bones were sometimes boiled with other ingredients and fed to children as a treatment for dizziness and leg cramps. Other times they were ground up and made into a paste that was applied directly to fractures and other injuries, he said.
The practice had been going on for at least two decades, he said.
Dong was among a team of scientists who recently excavated in Henan's Ruyang County an 60-foot-long plant-eating dinosaur, which lived 85 million to 100 million years ago. Local officials held a news conference Tuesday, showing off the find to the public for the first time.
Another two dinosaur fossils were being excavated in the area, which is rich in fossilized dinosaur eggs, Dong said.
Special Thank to Discovery
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