The Tyrannosaurus rex's tiny arms were more useful than previously thought, according to findings presented at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's annual meeting. Researchers used turkey and alligator elbows to simulate movements of a T. rex joint, finding that its ability to rotate its forearms and hands toward the chest may have made it easier to bring prey closer to its mouth.

More than 100 Virginia companies offered seventh-graders a look at their fields during the annual Worlds of Work expo. Demonstrations included learning CPR with EMS personnel and simulations in masonry and welding.

A Bose-Einstein condensate, or BEC, has been created in space using a small atom chip as part of the Matter-Wave Interferometry in Microgravity experiment, described in Nature. The space-based BEC could be used to more precisely measure gravitational waves or detect dark-matter particles, researchers say.

A chemical reaction between formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide may be behind much of China's notorious winter smog, a study published in Geophysical Research Letters suggests. Researchers say more progress could be made in curbing the smog by focusing efforts on slashing formaldehyde emissions as well as sulfur dioxide emissions.

Researchers have tweaked the CRISPR-Cas system to store information about cellular processes in DNA, according to findings published in Nature. The process, Record-seq, converts pieces of RNA into DNA spacers that record real-time transcriptional data to be used for later reference.

Youths with consistent participation in organized sports from ages 5 to 17 had improved bone density at age 20, compared with those who dropped out from the sport and those who never played, Australian researchers reported in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. The findings also showed that men who played consistently since childhood had greater whole-body density and those who only played in adolescence had better leg bone density, but only leg bone density was improved among women with consistent sports participation since childhood.

Skin flap wounds exposed to fumes from electronic cigarettes increased the risk of flap necrosis to the same degree as exposure to conventional cigarette smoke, researchers reported in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.
Shaun Desai, assistant professor of head and neck surgery, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study
that patients should be asked about e-cigarette use and counseled to quit at least four weeks before any surgical procedure.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute awarded a $3.7 million grant to a partnership of four Los Angeles-area health care systems led by the University of California, Los Angeles. Funds will be used to create the Center for Excellence in Learning Health Systems at UCLA, which will study how health systems data can improve patient care.

Florida biopharmaceutical company Longeveron has been awarded a $3.8 million Small Business Innovation Research grant from the NIH to develop treatments for age-related diseases. Funds will go toward creating stem-cell treatments for a condition known as aging frailty.

Columbia State Community College in Tennessee is starting a one-year certificate program to prepare students for careers in firefighting. Columbia Fire and Rescue Chief Ty Cobb says his department has worked with the college to establish the program and will be involved in the training.