Science News Roundup: Singapore battles record dengue outbreak; Mammal-like Triassic creature beat polar winters and more

Fossil embryo dubbed the 'small giant' packs surprises about a big dinosaur The skull of a dinosaur embryo from Argentina is providing surprising details about baby facial features present in one species from an important dinosaur group called titanosaurs that included the largest land animals that have ever lived on Earth.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Singapore battles record dengue outbreak with more mosquitoes

From the high balcony of a Singapore public housing block, an environment official steadies his mosquito launcher, the latest contraption authorities have devised to combat a record outbreak of the tropical disease dengue. With the click of a button and a whirr of a fan, a hatch opens and 150 lab-reared male mosquitoes are sent flying, off in search of a female companion with whom they can mate but not reproduce.

Mammal-like Triassic creature beat polar winters by hibernating

The tusks of a stoutly built plant-eating mammal relative that inhabited Antarctica 250 million years ago are providing the oldest-known evidence that animals resorted to hibernation-like states to get through lean times such as polar winters. The research published on Thursday focused on a four-legged forager called Lystrosaurus whose fossils have been found in China, Russia, India, South Africa and Antarctica. It was an early member of the evolutionary lineage that later gave rise to mammals.

Fossil embryo dubbed the 'small giant' packs surprises about a big dinosaur

The skull of a dinosaur embryo from Argentina is providing surprising details about baby facial features present in one species from an important dinosaur group called titanosaurs that included the largest land animals that have ever lived on Earth. Scientists on Thursday said the fragile fossil is among the best-preserved dinosaur embryonic remains ever found - a nearly intact skull about 1.2 inches (3 cm) long that has remained three-dimensional rather than being flattened during the fossilization process.

Musk's Neuralink venture promises to reveal a 'working' brain-computer device

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's neuroscience startup Neuralink on Friday is expected to detail its latest innovations for implanting minuscule computer chips in human brains, fueling expectations among scientists who closely watch the company. Co-founded by Musk in 2016, Neuralink aims to implant wireless brain-computer interfaces that include thousands of electrodes in the most complex human organ to help cure neurological conditions like Alzheimer's, dementia and spinal cord injuries and ultimately fuse humanity with artificial intelligence.