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Dinosaurs (non-avian) lived 66 million years ago+. The conditions that can preserve DNA longer is cold which is why Mammoth DNA in permafrost was able to be rec
by nemo 4y ago
Dinosaurs (non-avian) lived 66 million years ago+. The conditions that can preserve DNA longer is cold which is why Mammoth DNA in permafrost was able to be recovered. There's no permafrost from 66 million years ago. There's no means by which pre-avian dinosaur DNA might be preserved.
- erulabs 4y agoWhat about the Michael Crichton "mosquito stuck in amber" idea? I've been curious about that for ages - assuming the amber is room temperature, would that even help preserve DNA for an extra day? I've been leaning towards "no", but I am extremely far from an organic chemist!
- titaniumtown 4y agoJust because it's encased in something it doesn't prevent the decay of the actual DNA afaik.
- kadoban 4y agoEncasing in amber really only shields you from outside things. Those include chemicals (especially oxygen, oxygen is _very_ reactive), life (bacteria) and possibly some shielding against radiation (eg light). Those do encompass a _lot_ of the reason that anything decays, but unfortunately it's not _all_ of the reasons things decay. And over millions of years, the remaining decay mechanisms are enough that you're really not going to have much/any intact DNA. It makes for a good story though.
- erulabs 4y agoCool, this was my uneducated assumption, thanks!
- credit_guy 4y agoHow about this mummified dinosaur from 110 million years ago? https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/world/nodosaur-fossil-stomach-contents-scn-trnd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/world/nodosaur-fossil-stomach...