史上最强咬杀：科学家模拟霸王龙的死亡之吻
利物浦大学的科学家日前利用电脑摹拟演示了史前霸王龙强有力的口腔肌肉的威力：被霸王龙用力一咬堪比被一只中型象坐扁。Hints：
University of Liverpool
Biology Letters
Victoria Gill
Tyrannosaurus rex
T-rex
主持：飘非烟
校对&翻译：dramatic150
答疑：时谙http://t1.g.hjfile.cn/listen/201202/201202290808561191983.mp3Scientists from the University of Liverpool have measured the power of a Tyrannosaurus rex bite. Their study, which digitally simulated the predator's skull, revealed that it had the most powerful jaws of any creature that ever walked the Earth. The scientists published their findings in the journal Biology Letters. Here's our science reporter Victoria Gill.
The sound of its roar is still an educated Hollywood guess, but 65 million years after Tyrannosaurus rex became extinct, researchers have worked out exactly how powerful its bite was. The University of Liverpool team used a laser scanner to make a digital model of the dinosaur's skull including every muscle that powered its huge jaws. By activating these digital muscles, the scientists made the jaws snap shut just as they would have in life as T-rex clamped onto its prey. The researchers found that the force as two of T-rex's back teeth crushed together was equivalent to being sat on by a medium-sized elephant. Since this prehistoric hunter was much larger and more powerful than any predator walking the Earth today, scientists say that studying it helps them to understand the extreme physical feats that living things are capable of.
Victoria Gill reporting.来自利物浦大学的科学家们测量出霸王龙咬杀的真正威力。通过电脑模拟霸王龙这种食肉动物的颅骨，他们的研究得出结果：霸王龙拥有比地球上存在过的任何生物都有力的颚。这些科学家将研究结果发表在《生物学快报》上。请听我们的科学栏目记者维多利亚·吉尔报道。
刚才听到的霸王龙吼叫声仅仅是好莱坞电影想象模拟出来的，但是现在，也就是在霸王龙灭绝6500万年之时，科学家们模拟测试出了霸王龙咬杀的世纪威力。利物浦大学使用了激光扫描仪制作出恐龙颅骨的电子模型，连每个控制霸王龙巨大颚的肌肉都包括在内。通过激活这些电子肌肉，科学家就能模拟真正的霸王龙迅猛捕食猎物时“吧嗒”合上下巴的实况。研究人员发现，霸王龙两颗后牙撞击在一起时的威力堪比被中型大象压坐。由于这个史前猎食者比地球上活动着的任何捕食者都要强大，科学家们表示研究它可以探寻出生物肉体力量的极限。
维多利亚·吉尔报道。
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