05/15/2015

Chicken Beaks and Dinosaur Snouts

5:50 minutes

An artist's rendition of the non-avian dinosaur Anchiornis and a tinamou, a primitive modern bird, depicted with transparent snouts.
An artist’s rendition of the non-avian dinosaur Anchiornis and a tinamou, a primitive modern bird, depicted with transparent snouts. By John Conway

Modern birds evolved from a group of small carnivorous dinosaurs 150 million years ago. Developmental biologist Bhart-Anjan Bhullar, working with his doctoral advisor Arhat Abzhanov, retraced this history by molecularly transforming an embryonic chicken beak into a snout that was structurally similar to a small dinosaur. Bhullar discusses what this genetic approach could tell us about the transition from dinosaurs to chickens.

Segment Guests

Bhart-Anjan Bhullar

Bhart-Anjan Bhullar is post-doctoral scholar at the University of Chicago and assistant professor and curator of geology and geophysics at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

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About Alexa Lim

Alexa Lim was a senior producer for Science Friday. Her favorite stories involve space, sound, and strange animal discoveries.