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Yes, it's true--Those pictures of gallant warriors fighting two-headed dragons may be at least partially based on fact.  From that bottomless pit of headline-making dino fossils (China) comes a truly remarkable Choristoderan specimen. It has two heads.

This dinosaur was a long-necked aquatic species, and was a juvenile when it died. A malformation caused it to develop with two necks and skulls, a growth abnormality called axial bifurcation. The is the first example of a two-headed fossil.

Axial bifurcation is known to occur in many reptile, though it is rare.  About 400 instances of two-headed snakes have been recorded, according to Dr. Eric Buffetaut, a lead researcher of the fossil. Two-headed turtles are also reported on occasion.

Rare as two-headed specimens are, it's remarkable that one was fossilized.  Fossilization is relatively rare in and of itself, since organisms are apt to decay quickly once they die.  An organism needs to be buried quickly, freeze, or be enveloped in some type of oxygen-free environment.

So what are the odds of finding two-headed dinos?  Pretty slim.  At this rate we might even find a missing link.

Image courtesy the Royal Society.

A NYT science story discusses why turtles live so long--their organs never seem to wear out, apart from disease and truck tires (ouch). Fascinating, although evolution gets all the glory for turtle longevity, which clearly belongs to the Creator.

Any Egypt geeks out there? A week or so ago a controversy began raging over one professor who has his own theory about the construction of the pyramids. Are you ready? . . . --They done it with concrete.

Totally serious. Michel Barsoum in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Ceramic Society presents evidence from three years of micrograph analysis that many (but not all) of the limestone blocks in the ancient Egyptian pyramids were made of limestone cement, a type Barsoum calls a "geopolymer."

Reactions range from fascinated to angered and insulted (er, that would be Zahi Hawass, Egypt's feisty antiquities minister), to thoughtful and hopeful:

Noting that the pyramids have been restored and reinforced many times with the extensive use of concrete, Dr. Hawass said, “I would ask Dr. Barsoum the question: where did he get the samples he is working with, and how can he show that the samples are not taken from areas that have been restored in modern times?”

Most Egyptologists think the pyramids were built with limestone blocks that were cut to shape in nearby quarries using copper tools. The blocks were then hauled to the pyramid sites, lifted up ramps and hoisted into place with the help of wedges and levers.

But a geologist and another materials scientist, who were familiar with the research, said that Dr. Barsoum was a careful and reputable scientist and that his work should be seriously considered.

. . . 

David Walker, a Columbia geologist who has read the report, said that the microscopic examination of the blocks “certainly revealed things you wouldn’t expect to find in normal limestone.”  -NYT