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This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science, I'm Steve Mirsky. Got a minute?

When I got into a cage with a Komodo dragon almost 10 years ago for a story, I had no idea that its skull¹ was so special. Neither did scientists until now. But a report in the Journal of Anatomy² reveals that the world’s largest living lizard³ has a remarkable⁴, space frame skull. Space frame refers to a light, rigid⁵ structure with interlocking struts⁶ that can handle big loads. The shape of the skull bones and the arrangement of bones of different strengths is the key. The researchers employed a technique called Finite Element Analysis, which is usually used to analyze⁷ trains or planes. But in this case it let them reverse engineer the Komodo to study the mechanical forces that the skull is subject to.As opposed to, say, an alligator⁸, the dragon has a pretty wimpy⁹ bite. So rather than clamp down on its victims, it yanks off chunks¹⁰ of meat, a move powered by incredibly strong neck muscles. And made possible by that space-frame skull able to handle the huge forces involved. Our March 1999 article on Komodos is available at sciamdigital.com.

Thanks for the minute, for Scientific American's 60-Second Science, I'm Steve Mirsky.

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1 skull
n.头骨；颅骨
参考例句：
The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。 He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

2 anatomy
n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织
参考例句：
He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。 The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

3 lizard
n.蜥蜴，壁虎
参考例句：
A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。 The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。

4 remarkable
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。 These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 rigid
adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的
参考例句：
She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。 The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

6 struts
（框架的）支杆( strut的名词复数 )；支柱；趾高气扬的步态；（尤指跳舞或表演时）卖弄
参考例句：
The struts are firmly braced. 那些支柱上得很牢靠。 The Struts + EJB framework is described in part four. 三、介绍Struts+EJB框架的技术组成：Struts框架和EJB组件技术。

7 analyze
vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)
参考例句：
We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。 The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

8 alligator
n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)
参考例句：
She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。 Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

9 wimpy
adj.懦弱的，无用的，哭哭啼啼的
参考例句：
I'd rather have a wimpy kid than a dead one, you know? 你知道么？我宁可要一个懦弱的孩子，也不想要一个死的。来自互联网 I hate wimpy drinker. 我讨厌酒量差的人。来自互联网

10 chunks
厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )；（某物）相当大的数量或部分
参考例句：
a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块 Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？