Skeleton
hideIn biology, a skeleton is a rigid framework that provides protection and structure in many types of animal, particularly those of the phylum Chordata and of the superphylum Ecdysozoa. Exoskeletons are external, as is typical of many invertebrates; they enclose the soft tissues and organs of the body. Exoskeletons may undergo periodic moulting as the animal grows. Endoskeletons are internal, as is typical of many vertebrates; they are usually surrounded by skin and musculature, though they often enclose vital organs. Endoskeletons are attachment points for musculature and act as leverage for movement, and in many animals contain marrow, which produces blood cells. Skeletons may or may not be mineralized - human skeletons are calcified, while shark skeletons are cartilaginous - and may be jointed for flexibility and motility or rigid for structural strength.
The average adult human skeleton has around 206 bones. These bones meet at joints, the majority of which are freely movable. The skeleton also contains cartilage for elasticity. Ligaments are strong strips of fibrous connective tissue that hold bones together at joints, thereby stabilizing the skeleton during movement.
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News tagged with skeleton
Scientists: New dinosaur species found in SAfrica
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 11, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Scientists say they've discovered a new dinosaur species in South Africa that may help explain how the creatures evolved into the largest animals on land.
The terrible teens of T. rex
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 02, 2009 |
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We all know adolescents get testy from time to time. Thank goodness we don't have young tyrannosaurs running around the neighborhood.
The skeleton: Size matters
Oct 27, 2009 |
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Vertebrates have in common a skeleton made of segments, the vertebrae. During development of the embryo, each segment is added in a time dependent manner, from the head-end to the tail-end: the first segments to be added ...
Baby mammoth preserved in frozen soil heads to Chicago
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 04, 2009 |
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Sucked to her death in a muddy river bed, a baby woolly mammoth spent 40,000 years frozen in the Siberian permafrost where her body was so perfectly preserved traces of her mother's milk remained in her belly.
Before 'Lucy,' there was 'Ardi': Oldest hominid skeleton provides new evidence for human evolution (w/ Video)
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 01, 2009 |
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In a special issue of Science, an international team of scientists has for the first time thoroughly described Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiop ...
Scientists Find Obesity Alone Does Not Cause Arthritis in Animals
Sep 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The link between obesity and osteoarthritis may be more than just the wear and tear on the skeleton caused by added weight.
New species discovered on whale skeletons
Sep 21, 2009 |
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When a whale dies, it sinks to the seafloor and becomes food for an entire ecosystem. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered previously unknown species that feed only on dead ...
Caistor skeleton mystifies archaeologists
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Sep 15, 2009 |
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A skeleton, found at one of the most important, but least understood, Roman sites in Britain is puzzling experts from The University of Nottingham.
T. rex for sale: Dinosaur fossil on block in Vegas
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Sep 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Museums and high-rolling natural history buffs will get a crack at buying a fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex next month at a Las Vegas Strip auction.
The plant cell's corset
Sep 02, 2009 |
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We still have a lot to discover about the mechanism in plants that ensures cell growth in a specific direction. However it is clear that a structure of parallel protein tubes plays an important role. Simon Tindemans investigated ...
US to auction rare T-Rex skeleton
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Aug 13, 2009 |
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A rare Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, among the most complete specimens in the world, is to go on the auction block in Las Vegas in October, the auction house Bonhams & Butterfields has said.
Bone from Blood: Circulating Cells Form Bone Outside the Normal Skeleton, Study Finds
Jul 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The accepted dogma has been that bone-forming cells, derived from the body's connective tissue, are the only cells able to form the skeleton. However, new research shows that specialized cells ...
Ancient well, and body, found in Cyprus
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 24, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Archaeologists have discovered a water well in Cyprus that was built as long as 10,500 years ago, and the skeleton of a young woman at the bottom of it, an official said Wednesday.
Indonesian elephant fossil opens window to past
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 23, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Indonesian scientists are reconstructing the largest, most complete skeleton of a prehistoric giant elephant ever found in the tropics, a finding that may offer new clues into the largely mysterious ...
A million-year-old mammoth skeleton found in Serbia: report
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 03, 2009 |
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A finely preserved skeleton of a mammoth, believed to be one million years old, was uncovered near an archaeological site in eastern Serbia, local media reported on Wednesday.
