Quirks and Quarks Cleveland’s ancient car-sized sea monster had bony fangs, and more…
Dec 5, 2025
Russell Engelman, a PhD student at Case Western Reserve University, reveals fascinating insights about Dunkleosteus, an ancient armored fish that lived 360 million years ago in Ohio. He delves into its unique anatomy, including its blade-like fangs and the environmental conditions of its tropical habitat. Meanwhile, Dr. Stefan Comrade discusses the detrimental effects of industrial chemicals on gut bacteria and his innovative use of machine learning to predict toxicity. Lastly, Dr. Benjamin Ward-Cherrier shares groundbreaking work on training brain organoids to process sensory information, paving the way for biological computing.
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Moon Formed From A Local Impact
- Iron isotope matches show the Moon and Earth share inner‑solar‑system chemistry, not an outer interloper origin.
- Dr. Seth Jacobson concludes Theia likely formed next to the proto‑Earth and was an 'inside job'.
Cleveland’s Giant Armored Fish Revealed
- Russell Engelman describes Cleveland's Dunkleosteus fossils as heavy armored skulls collected during the 1920s construction boom.
- He rebuilt skull anatomy and found large cartilage components and bone blades instead of true teeth.
Bone Blades, Not Teeth
- Dunkleosteus lacked conventional teeth but developed sharpened jawbones by bone‑on‑bone wear, forming blade‑like biting surfaces.
- Large bony fangs (odontoids) and cartilage-filled jaws enabled powerful bites in a car‑sized predator.