DNA found in 75 million year-old dinosaur bones
- 4 years ago
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA / BEIJING, CHINA — Researchers have discovered DNA inside 75 million-year-old dinosaur fossils, according to the National Science Review.
According to the Science China Press writing on Phys.org, scientists from the U.S. and China made the discovery while investigating skull fragments of Hypacrosaurus nestlings. In addition to DNA, researchers also found proteins, chromosomes and cartilage cells among the fossils.
According to the British Natural History Museum, these dinosaurs were herbivores and lived 70 million years ago in Canada and the USA during the Late Cretaceous period.
Researchers suggest that their findings could mean that DNA can exist longer than currently thought and may, in fact, be preserved in fossils that are millions of years old.
THUMBNAIL VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / DEBIVORT https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Hypacrosaurus-v2.jpg
According to the Science China Press writing on Phys.org, scientists from the U.S. and China made the discovery while investigating skull fragments of Hypacrosaurus nestlings. In addition to DNA, researchers also found proteins, chromosomes and cartilage cells among the fossils.
According to the British Natural History Museum, these dinosaurs were herbivores and lived 70 million years ago in Canada and the USA during the Late Cretaceous period.
Researchers suggest that their findings could mean that DNA can exist longer than currently thought and may, in fact, be preserved in fossils that are millions of years old.
THUMBNAIL VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / DEBIVORT https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Hypacrosaurus-v2.jpg