Arctodus Simus
Posted on 06/04/2005 3:56:12 AM PDT by planetesimal
Scientists have extracted and decoded the DNA of a cave bear that died 40,000 years ago.
They plan to unravel the DNA of other extinct species, including our closest ancient relatives, the Neanderthals.
But they say the idea of obtaining DNA from dinosaurs, depicted in the film Jurassic Park, remains science fiction.
It is highly unlikely that viable genetic material will ever be recovered from fossils that are hundreds of millions of years old.
But the scientists hope to be able to sequence the DNA of ancient humans, which lived at the same time as cave bears, raising the prospect of perhaps one day being able to "build" a Neanderthal from their genetic blueprint.
Jurassic Park
"In hundreds or thousands of years from now, we may have advanced our technology so we can create creatures from DNA sequence information," Dr Eddy Rubin, director of the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California, told the BBC News website.
Eddy Rubin: 'We were looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack'
"I don't think we can extract DNA from dinosaurs, I think they are too old. As for creating Jurassic Park, I think that remains science fiction."
The scientists extracted DNA from the fossilised tooth and bones of cave bears found at two sites in Austria.
The cave bear was once common in Europe but died out about 10,000 years ago, when the forests shrank at the end of the Ice Age.
Dr Rubin's team analysed the extinct bear's DNA using powerful computing technology developed during the human genome project.
This approach has been hampered in the past by the fact that ancient DNA is contaminated with genetic material from bacteria and people who have handled the fossil.
Sifting out the ancient DNA from this genetic soup is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
DNA was extracted from a tooth
But because we now know the genetic sequences of many organisms - including numerous microbes, the human, and animals such as the dog - the researchers were able to "fish out" the sequences they were interested in.
In the case of the cave bear, they used the sequence of the dog, which exists in public databases, and the DNA of modern bears, as a "magnet".
Dr Rubin said it served as a "proof of principle" that the method works.
They are now turning their attention to the Neanderthals, the closest ancient relatives of modern humans, who lived around the same time as bears.
"I think it will work," he said. "It is just a matter of time."
Mitochondrial DNA
Until now it has not been possible to obtain more than fragments of DNA from animals that died out tens of thousands of years ago.
It has been very difficult thus far to get anything other than mitochondrial DNA from ancient material
Dr Dan Bradley
Most samples of ancient DNA recovered have been from mitochondria, the structures in the cell that produce energy and have their own genetic material.
While this can provide valuable information about the evolutionary history of a species, it is the DNA within the nucleus, the nuclear or genomic DNA, that contains the bulk of an animal's genetic information, including the secrets of how modern animals differ from their ancestors.
Dr Dan Bradley, an expert on ancient DNA at Trinity College, Dublin, said the research was "very encouraging".
"It has been very difficult thus far to get anything other than mitochondrial DNA from ancient material," he said.
"That is only a very small part of our DNA with limited interest."
The research is reported in the journal Science.
Ursa-ren't much better. You have badly mangled the art of pun and the results are just plain grizzly. It's an ugly scene and I have the pictures to prove it. I took them with my brand new Kodiak camera.
"raising the prospect of perhaps one day being able to "build" a Neanderthal from their genetic blueprint."
Oh yeah, and I bet there's no way that could ever go wrong. /sarcasm
A couple of those and a liger roaming around my yard would make a great home security system.
I agree. We should not Mendel with genetics. Watson it for us anyways? Chances are we'll end up shit-Crick without a paddle. We'd be living a cell of our own creation.
I'm roaring out of hibernating long enough to call you a claw-ed for your sinewy-ations that we evolved. Hugh! It's for creationism and intelligent design that I care, bear with me as I go in the woods. I realize that without stop-action photography during God's initial six days of fame (I heard He's a UCLA Bruins fan, BTW), it's rug-ged to either prove or disprove any crevo hypothesis. Nevertheless I pre-fur believing Genesis rather than cavemanning into a berry unfruitful thread rooted in our mores and bearlief systems. (Although ACLU members may be the missing link, remind me to ask for an autopsy.)
I realize my position *mite* result in carpet-bombing. But no need me to skin me alive, Salmongundy! I'll mount my own head and tan my own hide, being a free enterprise a-fish-iondo and considering that any tax-i-dermal not paid for by me personally is antithetical to the American Way--the opposite of a Bull Market.
I ursa think as you do.
Are you going to bee here long? I was thinking we could grab a few bears later and discuss the latest buzz unless you had plans with your honey.
Martin,
I think you're just trying to panda to him.
"Are you going to bee here long?"
No, I'm only here fur a minute. I'm making a bee-line for lunch, after that I have other projects and sooner or later also gotta take a nature walk ... it bears repeating about what a certain animal species does in the woods.
Otherwise, Winnie the Pooh?
I have heard that 98% of all species that have become extinct did so before the SUV was invited - are this 98% still Bushes fault?
Sounds like you're going to be as busy as bee. Make sure you don't soil your genes while you're taking a Pooh!
Thank GOD for the SUV....arrived just in time to save the remaining 2% of all species! Why is this not bigger news? (Still Bush's fault. What did he know, when did he know it?)
Edell? LOL. Aw, come on, you know what HE would say!
"Only if their foreskins are intact."
Honey, I am back from the maul and I read this barren thread. Immediately I pelt that cloning these ancient animals would be unbearable for our economy as it would bring attacks we as conservatives could never support. Snout in our values to pay for such frivolous cloning around. There is trouble bruin, and I won't be a member of this cub. Claw me if it's privately financed.
I was starting to wonder where you'd been hiving...but there you are with your clover comments. I agree that we need to muzzle these efforts before they run rampant. Initially these cloning efforts may be restricted to the labeartory, but before long everybody will want to do their own home-bruin....It should make us all take paws. As you know, many peoples lives are ruined by these excesses and it all starts with that first bear.
The result of such gentic cloning around will be a grizzly site. I bet den bucks it won't work. And if it does, sow what?
Arctodus Simus
I'm back from my walk. It was uphill both ways, so I'm pandaing, gotta catch my breath. Hold muh bear.
I enjoy walking and Free Ranger meat and bearpathic medicine but I'm not into the Easternus Horribilis Urus thang, my exercise is the Western type. So don't say I'm a Yogi, that would be a Boo-boo.
Well, I gotta go. Got a date with a furr-in girl tonight, but I have Arctus Major reservations, I hear she may be bi-polar.
(Note to self: I've got a beef: the evolutionists who crow their caw-camamie ideas really get my goat. They want to butt into the origins question and cell their wares. Nothing sheepish about them, they hawk them without shame and show Noah respect for other theories. Oh, well. Whatever floats your boat.)
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