First dino 'blood' extracted from ancient bone
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- DeliaTheArtist
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more from Tech:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17060-first-dino-blood-extracte...
"A dinosaur bone buried for 80 million years has yielded a mix of proteins and microstructures resembling cells. The finding is important because it should resolve doubts about a previous report that also claimed to have extracted dino tissue from fossils.Proteins such as collagen are far more durable than DNA, but they had not been expected to last the 65 million years since the dinosaurs died out. So palaeontologist Mary Schweitzer of North Carolina State University attracted wide attention when she reported finding first soft tissue and later collagen from a Tyrannosaurus rex leg bone that was intact until it was broken during excavation.
Yet critics said the extraordinary claim required extraordinary evidence, and asked for protein sequences, better handling of samples to prevent contamination, and confirmation analyses from other laboratories.
So Schweitzer took a look at the pristine leg bone of a plant-eating hadrosaur that had been encased in sandstone for 80 million years. She and colleagues exhaustively tested the sample, sequencing the proteins they found with a new and better mass spectrometer and sending samples to two other labs for verification.
Now they report recovering not just collagen – which conveys little evolutionary information because it is the same in almost all animals – but also haemoglobin, elastin and laminin, as well as cell-like structures resembling blood and bone cells. The proteins should reveal more about dinosaur evolution because they vary much more between species."
HELL YES. Say Hello to the real Jurassic Park!
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slarabee
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Beyond the whole "Jurassic Park" scenario is there not a potential to also put to rest the arguments over evolution or am I reading to much into it?
- 9 months ago
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slarabee
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DeliaTheArtist
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slarabee:
As far as I'm concerned there should be NO argument to evolution at all! So my guess is it doesn't matter how much actual proof you throw around, creationists will stick to their beliefs or warp the evidence to their ends no matter what. Last week there were 2 discoveries of "missing links" in evolution- a few dinos and a "walking seal"- STILL creationists persist. Sigh.
- 9 months ago
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DeliaTheArtist
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slarabee
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slarabee:
Alas I fear that you are correct Delia. Anything short of a God showing up and telling the Creationists that he/she did not create everything and confirming evolution they will persist. And even in that scenario I would bet they would call it a "false" god. Oh well what they don't know we won't let hurt us. :)
- 9 months ago
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slarabee
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Rox1SMF
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slarabee:
It's just too bad that what they don't know DOES hurt us. The level of scientific literacy in the US is shameful, and the blame lies squarely on creationists and the cowards who've allowed them to inject their beliefs into our children's classrooms.
- 9 months ago
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Rox1SMF
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slarabee
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slarabee:
@Rox1SMF
Sadly I think you are correct. Hopefully things will get better. :(
- 9 months ago
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slarabee
