Will they be able to extract DNA from this and possibly clone the animal?

Is it possible there is DNA?

The scientists involved seem to think it is possible. I think that it would suprise everyone if they did, in fact, find it though, particularly since we are talking about blood cells. Dinosaur red blood cells (which would make up the majority of blood cells) may or may not have contained DNA (Human's don't) making it that much less likely.



Can the dinosaur be cloned?

There are two problems:

(1)Assuming there is DNA, which I would say is possible but unlikely, it would certainly not be complete. In Jurassic Park, they solved this by inserting other species' DNA, but in reality we are not nearly so advanced as to be able to do this.

(2)What clones we have made have generally used an embryo and egg/womb of the same species. In fact, I don't think we have ever cloned one specied in the egg of another (though I could well be wrong - does anyone know?) and there aren't exactly any dinosaur embryos & eggs sitting around.

quote:

Originally posted by methos:

(2)What clones we have made have generally used an embryo and egg/womb of the same species. In fact, I don't think we have ever cloned one specied in the egg of another (though I could well be wrong - does anyone know?) and there aren't exactly any dinosaur embryos & eggs sitting around.

Well, I remember talk going around recently (within the last year) of the possibility of cloning mammoths using african elephants if there was a good enough preservation in the Siberian ice.

Also, before the plans to clone the Tasmanian Tiger were scrapped (last month I think), they would have had to use another animal to clone it.

Apparently, the soft tissue inside the bone was exceedingly well preserved, and could be manipulated slightly with instruments.

Check out this link: http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/ap_trex_tissues.html

Certainly, it is possible, and it would be surprising. However, it is not just blood cells they have found, it is blood vessels, which could definitly increase the possibility.

My only questions are, what other animal would they use to clone the T-Rex? Birds?

And granted we would learn a lot from a living, breathing dinosaur, but would we really want one roaming the countryside?

quote:

Originally posted by Matiqua:
However, it is not just blood cells they have found, it is blood vessels, which could definitly increase the possibility.

True, but having the tissue is not necessarily the same as having intact cells. They have specifically mentioned, however, that they see what, at first glance, may well be blood cells.


In theory, it should be possible to use one species to host a closely related species' clone, as your examples mention, but I don't think it has ever actually been done. Of course, as you allude to, we run into problems with finding a closely enough related species to a dinosaur.

If they do attempt to clone it, it will be interesting to see what creature they will use.