30 years after Jurassic Park, how close is science to cloning a dinosaur?

Jurassic Park may be Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster . Aside from the appeal of human-eating dinosaurs, tense action sequences, and innovative cinematography, its 1993 release was a landmark affair between film and science.

As global audiences absorbed the bloody action, The film’s premise – extracting DNA from fossil insects preserved in amber to resurrect dinosaurs – has received publication credibility thanks to several high-profile studies. on he fossil amber . The authors recovered ancient DNA from amber and even RELAUNCH bacteria housed in amber. The world seemed ready for a real Jurassic Park.

But since, Science has seen many twists and turns. A growing number of paleontologists are discovering traces of DNA and proteins in fossils, which also provide genetic information. These chemical traces could provide unprecedented insights into ancient life and evolution. But these reports are a source of debate and controversy among scientists. OUR recent study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolutionoffers new knowledge.

DNA provides the most detailed information, compared to other molecules, about the degree of relatedness of species. However, DNA is extremely fragile and decomposes quickly after the death of an organism.

Having said this, DNA can sometimes survive in polar climates , because freezing temperatures slow decomposition. Therefore, geologically young DNA (thousands of years) has the potential to resurrect extinct animals from the last ice age to the recent past.

Commercial companies such as Pleistocene Park , Colossal And Revive and Restore They are working on projects to recover the woolly mammoth and passenger pigeon.

There is a big time difference between these mammoths and these dinosaurs, which disappeared 66 million years ago. However, some data suggest that genetic material can survive in fossils even on these time scales.

For example, fossil chromosomes (fragments of DNA smaller than a cell) have been discovered. in plants from up to 180 million years and in a dinosaur 75 million years old.

However, Scientists have not yet found proof that real DNA can survive tens of millions of years.

Proteins also encode information (in the form of amino acid sequences ) which can shed light on the evolutionary links between species.

Scientists believe that Proteins can survive longer than DNA . In fact, researchers have found many examples of fossilized proteins, including intact amino acid sequences of collagen (a protein found in connective tissues), but they are at most a few million years old.

Scientists do not expect large protein fragments survive as long as the little ones. The scientific community was therefore electrified in 2007 by the report of Collagen fragments 68 million years old in a bone Tyrannosaurus rex.

However, controversy soon ensued concerns have increased on the team methodology , such as the potential for contamination and the lack of rigorous controls and independent verification.

A similar debate surrounds more recent reports on proteins and Collagen fibers degraded into fossils until 130 million years .

These studies highlight the difficulties of working with fossils, particularly using analytical methods that may not be appropriate for use on old tissues. However, the evidence for the survival of fossil protein remains has proven compelling.

These studies also stimulate other researchers explore new analytical methods and approaches that may be more suitable for use with fossils.

OUR new study explores one such approach, using a focused beam of light and X-rays to irradiate ancient feather samples. These techniques reveal which chemical bonds are present, providing information about the structure of proteins. In turn, this helps us detect traces of proteins in fossil feathers.

Our analyzes of the feathered dinosaur Sinornithosaurus 125 million years, revealed abundant wavy protein structures, consistent with a protein called beta-keratin , which is common in modern pens. Spiral protein structures (indicative of another protein called alpha-keratin) were only present in small amounts.

When we simulate the fossilization process in laboratory experiments, We discovered that the wavy structures of proteins break down and form spiral structures when heated.

These results suggest that ancient feathers were remarkably similar in chemistry to modern feathers . This also suggests that the spiral protein structures in the fossils are likely artifacts of the fossilization process.

But ultimately, our results suggest that trace amounts of proteins survive for hundreds of millions of years.

Today, Paleontologists can analyze fossils for ancient molecules using an arsenal of techniques that were not available 30 years ago. This allowed us to identify fragments of molecules in fossil animals several tens to several hundred million years old.

Scientists have discovered Hemoglobin, a red blood cell protein, in 50 million year old insects and melanin pigments in the ink sacs of 200-million-year-old squid.

However, ultimately we need intact DNA to resurrect species. Although scientists have made many advances, the prospect remains in the realm of science fiction. All fossil and experimental data available to date suggest that DNA is unlikely to survive for tens of millions of years.

Even if scientists found fragments of DNA in dinosaur fossils, they would likely be very short. Short fragments of DNA are unlikely to provide us with useful information about a species. And we don’t yet have the technology to validate DNA fragments as rare as original, non-random combinations of amino acids generated during fossilization.

Better laboratory protocols and fossilization experiments help us make more accurate interpretations of fossils. This opens the way to more rigorous studies of ancient molecules.

In the future, These studies could challenge what we think we know about how long molecules survive. and could even change our understanding of the evolution of life on Earth.

* Tiffany Shea Slater postdoctoral researcher, palaeobiology, University College Cork

** Maria McNamara professor of paleobiology, University College Cork