Dino DNA

[AtomSplitter]

Would it be Theoreticallypossible to obtain some Dino DNA and use that to artificially inseminate a crocodile or something similar to produce a hybid species that would have some dinosaur characteristics in it? If that is possible could we not then use more of the origional DNA to make the hybrid pregnant so that the new offspring becomes more like the dino? could we keep doing this untill we produce something that would very closely resemble the origional thing?

 

Any thoughts on this are greatly welcomed

 

 

thankyou :0)

[Mr Skeptic]

It is theoretically possible, yes. I've even heard that they found some dino DNA in the bone marrow. However, it was horribly degraded and contaminated. Also, I don't know if a crocodile egg would be very compatible with the dino DNA. I'd use a cell culture instead.

[Kyrisch]

Plus, the idea you proposed would overrepresent any weaknesses in that specific genome the same way inbreeding does.

[jamey2k9]

the process you refer to is trying to clone a dinosaur from a croc theoreticaly it is possible it's just a case of if the dna is compatible

[arnolp04]

Theoretically yes - practically - no. As already mentiond the DNA would be far too degraded and the hybrid too much croc/reptile - you may not get any viable dino traits. Though of course you never know - may be one day scientists will find a perfectly preserved dino dna sequence - never say never and all that.

 

In 2007 they were able to extract protein from 68 million year old Trex bones. It's helping with studies on the evolutionary link between dinos and birds. Huge surprise that such organic material survived for so long.

[Psycho]

Theoretically yes - practically - no. As already mentiond the DNA would be far too degraded and the hybrid too much croc/reptile - you may not get any viable dino traits. Though of course you never know - may be one day scientists will find a perfectly preserved dino dna sequence - never say never and all that.

 

In 2007 they were able to extract protein from 68 million year old Trex bones. It's helping with studies on the evolutionary link between dinos and birds. Huge surprise that such organic material survived for so long.

 

I think it would be more likely that DNA synthesis techniques would develop to the point where the whole DNA strand could be resynthesised from mutiple fraction of the DNA which are all partially degraded but together can make a complete DNA strand, but of course then putting it in the croc still wouldn't work......

[lifestream]

More likely, if they manage to get complete DNA, there is no reason to use crocodile eggs anymore. It would ether create something dangerous or nonfunctional. Rather just focus on creating a original egg (if science is capable to actually create something at cellular lvl only using DNA).

[Mr Skeptic]

The DNA by itself is definitely not enough. However, if the DNA could be inserted into another reptile's cells we might be able to get dinosaur cells. The nucleus of those cells would contain the DNA plus any necessary packaging, which would be more likely to work when inserted into a reptile egg. Alternately, a chimera dino/reptile might be produced, and then one of the dino cells might develop into an egg.

[lifestream]

Tho we may not find perfect trex DNA, there are plenty of well preserved specimen from that age.

Perhaps frozen in ice? OR inside chunk of amber - it could have some insect that perhaps sucked blood from trex or similar dino?

Tho it could be possible that dna might have fragmented in millions of years.

Still amber is most likely the best source for DNA (or frozen specimen).

 

Even if you do get 100% correct dino DNA, you still dont have "hardware" where to use it (eg. dino egg) - and well making one is near impossible for now (we could actually create egg same way dino does- in laboratory, if we would have knowledge for that).

 

 

Btw we can still create hybrids - perhaps in the same way virus replicates, replacing genomes in hosts cells - eliminating hosts own genetic information.

Edited January 20, 2009 by lifestream

[Mokele]

Honestly, there's no dino DNA left anywhere. No ice persisted since their time, and without cold temperatures any DNA strand would have complete decayed by now, even if sealed in amber or somesuch. The soft-tissue fossil from the T Rex bone was proteins, not DNA. IMHO, the only way to get dino DNA is time travel.

 

Even if we got it, it would be damned hard to do anything with it. The two closest relatives, crocs and birds, have both diverged so far from their saurian cousins that it would be like trying to grow a monkey fetus in a platypus. Mixing the DNA would invariably result in the embryo's death, since the species are just too separate.

 

Sure, new technology might help, but some things cannot be changed, such as the time over which the DNA has degraded or the surrogate parent species available, and these are the biggest challenges.

[arnolp04]

even if there was a reasonable amount of dino DNA kicking around - wouldn't you need to know how it was packaged into chromosomes?