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Can Fossil Skulls Tell Us if Sabertooth Cats Purred or Roared?

In the News

Sep 28, 2023

How One State Is Incorporating Data Science in Every Subject — Even Art

The Hechinger Report
In higher ed, data science is often housed in a particular school or limited to one field of study, such as a mathematics or computer engineering. But North Carolina State University is taking a different approach to teaching the subject, said Rachel Levy, executive director of the school’s new Data Science Academy. NC State launched the academy two years ago to introduce the use of the subject across disciplines, from biology and art to English and history. 

Sep 12, 2023

Videos of ‘Earthquake Lights’ Above Morocco Are an Unexplained Mystery

The New York Times
“People have wondered about them forever,” said Karen Daniels, a physicist at North Carolina State University. “It’s one of those persistent mysteries that hang around and never quite get nailed.” 

Sep 11, 2023

Morocco Races to Dig Out Survivors After Strongest Quake in 100 Years

The New York Times
"The quality of data depends on several factors and is later reviewed by several seismologists,” said Paula Figueiredo, an earth scientist at North Carolina State University. That task, she added, can take a few days to be completed. 

Sep 5, 2023

Diversity Isn’t Just Good for People; It’s Great for AI too

The Week
The study’s lead scientist, Professor William Ditto, and his team gave their AI a unique ability: the power to look inside itself and decide how to make its “brain” better. 

Aug 29, 2023

Sabertooth Cats Might Have Purred, Roared, Or Made A Noise All of Their Own

IFL Science
“While humans have only one hyoid bone, purring cats have nine bones linked together in a chain and roaring cats have seven,” says Ashley Deutsch, a PhD student at North Carolina State University and lead author of the research, in a statement. “The missing bones are located toward the top of the hyoid structure near where it connects to the skull.” 

Aug 23, 2023

Sabertooth Secrets: Did These Ancient Beasts Purr or Roar?

SciTechDaily
When a sabertooth tiger called out, what sound did it produce – a powerful roar or a deep purr? Recent research from North Carolina State University delved into the evidence supporting each theory, discovering that the answer might be more complex than initially believed – and that it could depend on the shape of a few small bones. 

Aug 23, 2023

Mighty Sabertooth Tigers May Have Purred Like Kittens

Popular Science
If the mighty Ice Age sabertooth tiger called out in a forest, and no one was around to hear it, did it even make a sound? A team of researchers from North Carolina State University set out to answer that philosophical question by investigating if sabertooth cats had a throaty purr or a mighty roar. They found that tiny bones in the tiger’s throat might present a more nuanced answer. 

Aug 22, 2023

Did Sabertooth Tigers Purr or Roar? The Answer May Lie in a Tiny String of Bones

Phys.org
A new study from North Carolina State University researchers has examined the data behind the arguments for each vocalization and found that the answer was more nuanced than they thought—and that it could depend on the shape of a few small bones. 

Aug 22, 2023

Did Sabertooth Tigers Roar or Purr?

Futurity
“Evolutionarily speaking, sabertooths split off the cat family tree before these other modern groups did,” says corresponding author Adam Hartstone-Rose, professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University. “This means that lions are more closely related to housecats than either are to sabertooths. That’s important because the debate over the kind of vocalization a sabertooth tiger would have made relies upon analyzing the anatomy of a handful of tiny bones located in the throat." 

Aug 22, 2023

Can Fossil Skulls Tell Us if Sabertooth Cats Purred or Roared?

Cosmos
One might imagine that such an imposing creature must have roared. But an analysis of Smilodon skull fossils by North Carolina State University researchers has shown that it may be more nuanced. “Evolutionarily speaking, sabertooths split off the cat family tree before these other modern groups did,” says corresponding author Professor Adam Hartstone-Rose. “This means that lions are more closely related to housecats than either are to sabertooths.”