A university in Japan establishes a new department dedicated to dinosaur research.

According to Kyodo News, Okayama University of Science is offering a course on dinosaurs. Due to the increasing number of students enrolling in the course, the school decided to establish a new department to expand research opportunities for students in the fields of dinosaurs, geology and paleontology.

"We aim to become a new educational and research center in western Japan specializing in dinosaur research, hoping to leverage the university's strengths to further promote research activities," said Mototaka Saneyoshi, associate professor of dinosaur research at Okayama University of Science.

Okayama University of Science has offered a course on dinosaurs and paleontology since 2014, taking over a fossil excavation project in the Gobi Desert (located in the southern region of Mongolia) conducted by a local biotechnology company.

Since then, the school's team of experts have discovered one of the world's largest dinosaur footprints and developed a new method for dating dinosaur fossils.

Therefore, the school decided to establish a new department because the number of people enrolling in dinosaur courses has increased 2-3 times in recent years.

The new department will enroll 45 students, an increase of about 50% over the original course. The number of teaching professors will increase from 4 to 8.

Inside the Okayama University of Science Dinosaur Museum

PHOTO: OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

According to an announcement from Okayama University of Science, the new department will provide opportunities for students to participate in multifaceted dinosaur research activities such as identifying proteins remaining in fossils and decoding amino acid sequences.

The current highlight of the course is a dinosaur fossil excavation in the Gobi Desert. Most of the course participants are fourth-year and postgraduate students working on their graduation projects.

For the new department, only third-year students are allowed to participate in this excavation project. "We hope to discover new aspects of dinosaur ecology that we have not been able to explore in the existing course," said Associate Professor Saneyoshi.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mot-dai-hoc-o-nhat-ban-thanh-lap-khoa-moi-chuyen-nghien-cuu-khung-long-185240925174453455.htm