Dinosaurs are a group of reptiles that dominated the land for over 140 million years (more than 160 million years in some parts of the world). They evolved in diverse shapes and sizes, from the fearsome giant Spinosaurus to the chicken-sized Microraptor, and were able to survive in a variety of ecosystems. As we all know, dinosaurs became extinct due to an asteroid that hit the earth 66 million years ago. There are many kinds of dinosaurs. The most famous and well-known dinosaur is called a “T Rex” short for Tyrannosaurus Rex. Tyrannosaurus Rex was one of the most ferocious predators to ever walk the Earth. With a massive body, sharp teeth, and jaws so powerful they could crush a car, this famous carnivore dominated the forested river valleys in western North America during the Late Cretaceous period, 68 million years ago. T Rex maintains a reputation for being the king of the dinosaurs.
Studying dinosaurs has played a key role in developing evolutionary theory and other scientific concepts, such as plate tectonics and biogeography. All of these pursuits arise as a result of humanity's innate curiosity to investigate how our world works and where we fit within the natural world we see around us. Yet the dinosaurs remind us that life itself has helped to make our planet what it is. Whether scratching at the soil, trodding over the sand in search of greener pastures, or slipping on sand dunes, dinosaurs changed the shape of Earth.
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As we know, it was the kind of cataclysm that we can scarcely imagine. A radioactive fireball seared everything for hundreds of miles in every direction and created tsunamis that sped halfway around the globe. But what if they hadn’t died out? Dinosaurs in the 21st Century, just like modern animals, would probably have reduced populations and face the threat of extinction.' Big dinosaurs would perhaps only persist in protected reserves, such as national parks and wildlife refuges – modern-day equivalents of Jurassic Park.
Now, the real question is, can dinosaur DNA be recovered? The classic concept of dinosaur resurrection starts with a DNA-filled mosquito that has been preserved in amber for millions of years. But is this a scientific possibility or strictly resigned to fiction? When under specific circumstances blood does preserve, it doesn't mean that scientists will find DNA in it. So even if a dinosaur's blood was found inside an ancient insect, an opportunity to recreate the reptile from it isn't guaranteed. An attempt to resurrect dinosaurs presents many caveats scientifically and ethically making things to put in zoos or amusement parks like Jurassic World likely isn't the answer. So for now dinosaurs are probably going to remain safely in the past. But using genetic engineering to bring back extinct animals might be considered reasonable in some circumstances.
According to Black (2020), possible dinosaur DNA has been found talking about discoveries raising the possibility of exploring dinosaur genetics. The tiny fossil is unassuming, as dinosaur remains to go. It is not as big as an Apatosaurus femur or as impressive as a Tyrannosaurus jaw. The object is just a scant shard of cartilage from the skull of a baby hadrosaur called Hypacrosaurus that perished more than 70 million years ago. But it may contain something never before seen from the depths of the Mesozoic era: degraded remnants of dinosaur DNA.
Genetic material is not supposed to last over such periods—not by a long shot. DNA begins to decay at death. Findings from a 2012 study on moa bones show an organism’s genetic material deteriorates at such a rate that it halves itself every 521 years. This speed would mean paleontologists can only hope to recover recognizable DNA sequences from creatures that lived and died within the past 6.8 million years—far short of even the last nonavian dinosaurs.
Recovering genetic material of such antiquity would be a major development. Working on more recently extinct creatures—such as mammoths and giant ground sloths. Paleontologists have been able to revise family trees, explore the interrelatedness of species and even gain some insights into biological features such as variations in coloration. DNA from nonavian dinosaurs would add a wealth of new information about the biology of the “terrible lizards.”
Yet first, paleontologists need to confirm that these possible genetic traces are the real thing. Such potential tatters of ancient DNA are not exactly Jurassic Park–quality. At best, their biological makers seem to be degraded remnants of genes that cannot be read—broken-down components rather than intact parts of a sequence. Still, these potential tatters of ancient DNA would be far older (by millions of years) than the next closest trace of degraded genetic material in the fossil record. At the moment, molecular paleontology is controversial. Nevertheless, molecular paleobiology is developing standards of evidence and protocols as it continues to search for clues held inside ancient bones.
Even if the proposed dinosaur organics turn out to be false, the effort could still yield unexpected benefits. Bacterial communities are thought to be involved in the preservation of bones and their replacement with minerals, thus helping dinosaur remains become fossils. Future studies about ancient DNA from past microbial communities that used to live inside the dinosaur bones could shed more light on the roles of microorganisms in the fossilization and preservation of bones through geological time.
As reported by Peek (2021), in the two centuries since the first dinosaur bones were identified in England, nearly 11,000 dinosaur fossils have been unearthed worldwide, two-thirds of them in North America and Europe. Most of the finds have been made in the home countries of paleontologists; the ease of local fieldwork has led to a concentration of discoveries in well-traveled areas. Widening the scope depends on building local expertise—a tricky task for a fair niche (and not particularly lucrative) field.
Coinciding with Black (2020), even in a year when fossil explorations have been curtailed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, paleontologists have dug deep to describe dozens of new species and unlock new series about our favorite prehistoric creatures.
Dinosaurs are often celebrated for being big, fierce, and tough. The truth, however, is that they suffered from many of the same injuries and maladies that humans do. The animal, a horned dinosaur known to experts as Centrosaurus, probably coped with declining health before its eventual death in a coastal flood that caught its herd off-guard.
If dinosaurs “ruled the Earth” for millions of years, why were they hit so hard by the mass extinction of 66 million years ago? Paleontologists have been puzzling over this question for decades, and, some have suggested, dinosaurs might have already been dying back by the time that the asteroid struck. The researchers looked at different evolutionary trees for what dinosaurs were around during the end of the Cretaceous to track whether dinosaurs were dying out, thriving, or staying the same. Dinosaurs seemed perfectly capable of evolving new species.
In addition to this, the researcher became interested in this one specific dinosaur named Velociraptor. Velociraptors are said to be a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period. Smaller than other dromaeosaurids like Deinonychus and Achillobator, Velociraptor nevertheless shared many of the same anatomical features. Pterosaurs are distantly related to dinosaurs, being members of the clade Ornithodira.
The other groups mentioned are, like dinosaurs and pterosaurs, members of Sauropsida, except Dimetrodon. Modern birds inhabit most available habitats, from terrestrial to marine, and there is evidence that some non-avian dinosaurs could fly or at least glide, and others, such as spinosaurids, had semiaquatic habits.
Therefore, the answer to the question “Can dinosaur DNA be recovered?” is yes. This speed would mean paleontologists can only hope to recover recognizable DNA sequences from creatures that lived and died within the past 6.8 million years—far short of even the last nonavian dinosaurs. But then there is the Hypacrosaurus cartilage. With the help of genetics, paleontologists, and scientists we have hope of bringing the dinosaurs back. But is this a scientific possibility or strictly resigned to fiction? When under specific circumstances blood does preserve, it doesn't mean that scientists will find DNA in it. So even if a dinosaur's blood was found inside an ancient insect, an opportunity to recreate the reptile from it isn't guaranteed. An attempt to resurrect dinosaurs’ presents many caveats scientifically and ethically making things to put in zoos or amusement parks like Jurassic World likely isn't the answer. So for now dinosaurs are probably going to remain safely in the past. But using genetic engineering to bring back extinct animals might be considered reasonable in some circumstances.
References
- Rae, S., Hendry, L., What are dinosaurs, https:www.nhm.ac.ukdiscoverwhat-are-dinosaurs.html
- American Museum of Natural History, July 2012, How do dinosaurs benefit humanity, https:www.amnh.orgexplorevideosdinosaurs-and-fossilshow-does-studying-dinosaurs-benefit-humanity
- Black, R., July 2016, Dinosaurs Literally Reshaped the Planet, https:www.smithsonianmag.comscience-naturedinosaurs-literally-reshaped-planet-180959814
- Pickrell, J., September 2017, What if dinosaurs hadn’t died out? https:www.bbc.comfuturearticle20170918-what-if-the-dinosaurs-hadnt-died-out
- Pickrell, J., What if the dinosaurs had survived? https:www.sciencefocus.comnaturewhat-if-the-dinosaurs-had-survived
- Osterloff, E., Could scientists bring dinosaurs back to life, https:www.nhm.ac.ukdiscovercould-scientists-bring-dinosaurs-back.html
- Black, R., April 2017, Possible Dinosaur DNA Has Been Found, https:www.scientificamerican.comarticlepossible-dinosaur-dna-has-been-found
- Peek, K., February 2021, Dinosaur Discoveries Are Booming, https:www.scientificamerican.comarticledinosaur-discoveries-are-booming
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