Well, that seems to trump the belief or notion that DNA can't survive more than a million or so years without breaking down due to background radiation damage (

Well, that seems to trump the belief or notion that DNA can't survive more than a million or so years without breaking down due to background radiation damage (cosmic rays, etc.). My only knowledge of the subject rests on a few papers I've read. They suggest that DNA—even when stored under ideal conditions—couldn't survive the background radiation damage past this lenght of time. The argument goes that even though the radiation level may be miniscule it's the fact that it's incessant and persists for such a long time that the DNA ultimately succumbs. Seems to me that now we have not only viable DNA but viable yeasts that have survived around 50 times those estimates and hints that DNA may even be 'recognizable' over double that time that we have a whole new ballgame—researching really ancient DNA may actually be a worthwhile exercise. Anyone au fait with the latest research on this? Wishful thought—perhaps some future researcher may actually find viable DNA from a dinosaur with an ichy back who scratched up a tree for relief and some of its skin rubbed up against some amber. :-)