The film by the famous director S. Spielberg about an island where cloned giant lizards roam in an amusement park, probably every our reader has seen. At one time, after watching a movie, many asked the question: is a dinosaur clone a myth or reality?
The most interesting thing is that this question interested not only idle onlookers. Genetic scientists, funded by very wealthy people, have come to grips with the problem of cloning.
Dinosaur DNA is gone
Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, famous for creating a copy of the infamous Titanic ship, “fired up” the idea of creating his own park with giant lizards. To do this, you just need to get a clone of these prehistoric creatures, but is such a task capable of a person, even with a tightly stuffed wallet (sorry, suitcase) of money? Unfortunately, no, scientists answered.
For a long time, Australian researchers have been working on the problem of preserving DNA in the bones of ancient birds and the likelihood of obtaining it. The tests were carried out on the bones of ancient birds called moa.
Once these giants inhabited New Zealand, but five hundred years ago they were practically destroyed by the local population. Genetic scientists studied bones that were up to 8 thousand years old or more. It turned out that DNA molecules disintegrated in bones rather quickly. After a million and a half years, the genetic material cannot be used for reading, but in seven million years it decays to the end. And even ancient insects enclosed in amber have no DNA.
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The most famous dinosaurs
Tyrannosaurus (aka Tyrannosaurus Rex). This is an unrivaled predator, a real killing machine. Old Rex is familiar to anyone who has watched Jurassic Park. It is believed that with its enormous dimensions, the lizard was capable of speeds up to 60 km / h.
Diplodocus. This peaceful herbivorous lizard had impressive dimensions - its body length reached 40 meters! Diplodocus spent most of their life in water, and they got out on land to eat or lay eggs.
Triceratops. This massive dinosaur features three horns and an openwork collar around the neck. The appearance of the Triceratops bore some resemblance to the modern rhino. This dinosaur weighed about 12 tons and was a herbivore.
Pterodactyl. Jurassic Aviation Representative. What can you say about this lizard? It had a rather large beak with teeth, and the wingspan of the "birdie" reached 12 meters. The pterodactyl could snatch fish out of the water right on the fly, thanks to its dexterous paws with "fingers".
Allosaurus. Another terrible predator, attacking its prey in a jump. The jaw of the Allosaurus consisted of about 70 teeth, ranging in length from 10 to 15 cm. The long and muscular tail helped the predator to maintain balance when walking and running.
Plesiosaurus. It is an aquatic lizard with an incredibly long neck. Some believe that the famous Loch Ness monster may be a descendant of a plesiosaur. The main diet of this lizard was fish. The plesiosaurus had large flippers, which allowed it to maneuver in the aquatic environment.