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Scientists just found soft tissue inside a dinosaur fossil. Here's why that's exciting.
Vox.com ^ | June 9, 2015 | Joseph Stromberg

Posted on 06/09/2015 12:22:24 PM PDT by ETL

Dinosaur fossils, it was long thought, are simple objects. The fossilization process leaves the overall shape of a dinosaur's bones intact, but all the microscopic structures inside them — the blood cells, connective fibers, and other sorts of soft tissue — inevitably decay over time.

dino collagen
The photo above, from a new study published today in Nature Communications and led by Sergio Bertazzo of Imperial College London, shows an extremely zoomed-in view of a 75-million-year-old theropod claw, taken from the London Natural History Museum's collection. When researchers scraped tiny pieces off the fossil and looked at them under an electron microscope, they found tiny structures that look a lot like collagen fibers present in our own ligaments, tendons, and bones.

In other dinosaur fossils, the researchers found features that resemble red blood cells. Tests showed that they have a similar chemical composition to the blood of an emu (a bird thought to be a relatively close relative to dinosaurs).


The idea that dinosaur fossils might harbor soft tissue first surfaced about a decade ago, when paleontologist Mary Schweitzer found evidence of blood cells preserved inside T. rex fossils.

But what's so exciting about this new study is that the fossils used, unlike Schweitzer's, aren't particularly well-preserved. Susannah Maidment, one of the paleontologists who worked on the paper, called them "crap" specimens. If they have preserved soft tissue inside them, it could be a sign that thousands of other fossils in museum collections do too.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: dinosaurs; dna; fauxiantrolls; genetics; godsgravesglyphs; maryschweitzer; paleontology; scientists; sergiobertazzo; susannahmaidment; unitedkingdom
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To: TexasGator
It's hard for me to believe that is a picture of either one, claw or blood. In any case, here is the pic of the claw, with the caption (hopefully) where it should be. For some reason, I didn't see it earlier when posting the thread.


The photo above, from a new study published today in Nature Communications and led by Sergio Bertazzo of Imperial College London, shows an extremely zoomed-in view of a 75-million-year-old theropod claw, taken from the London Natural History Museum's collection. When researchers scraped tiny pieces off the fossil and looked at them under an electron microscope, they found tiny structures that look a lot like collagen fibers present in our own ligaments, tendons, and bones.

61 posted on 06/09/2015 1:29:39 PM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: ETL

I read about the process more than ten years ago.
It is a lot like the way they make gelatin.
The soak everything in acid until the bones, ligaments, hair and nails are gone, then they neutralize what’s left to remove the acid and then wash what’s left. This process separates the collagen and other soft tissues from the hard stuff.
I suppose you could take it one step further and grind it into a fine powder and call it dinosaur gelatin.


62 posted on 06/09/2015 1:29:40 PM PDT by BuffaloJack (When did the 2nd amendment suddenly require a license or permit to exercise as a right?)
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To: JoeProBono

Is that a photo of Kukla, Fran and Ollie in the back ground?

At my age that is the first thing I saw!


63 posted on 06/09/2015 1:30:04 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: Alex Murphy

Bingo. It’s simply a mathematical impossibility that you are going to find preserved soft tissue remains in something 75 million years old. It is beyond the realm of possibility unless these same atheist evolutionists want to call it an outright miracle.

Anything they are seeing with these structures still intact can’t be more than some number of thousands of years old.

But that wrecks their narrative and smashes their belief system. So they choose to believe something far more improbable rather than face evidence screaming at them in all its soft-tissue glory.

Dino fossils. Soft tissues. Blood cells. Millions of years? No. And deep down they know it.


64 posted on 06/09/2015 1:30:34 PM PDT by Advil000
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To: TexasGator

Thanks for the correction!


65 posted on 06/09/2015 1:31:35 PM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: BuffaloJack
Frozen Dinosaur Meat
66 posted on 06/09/2015 1:33:51 PM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: ETL

“For some reason, I didn’t see it earlier when posting the thread.”

Not your error. Apparently someone at Vox threw in the Emu blood photo after the writer wrote his piece.


67 posted on 06/09/2015 1:35:51 PM PDT by TexasGator
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar


68 posted on 06/09/2015 1:35:58 PM PDT by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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To: SkyDancer

Oh oh I vote for a petting zoo.


69 posted on 06/09/2015 1:38:24 PM PDT by Conservative4Ever (Hey Hillary, ... liar, liar pants on fire.-)
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To: Alex Murphy

Wait just a cotton pickin’ minute!

You mean to tell me that Darwin’s preconceived notions might not be true after all?

Next thing, you’ll tell me that Al Gore’s preconceived notions might not be true after all....

/sarc


70 posted on 06/09/2015 1:38:45 PM PDT by fishtank (The denial of original sin is the root of liberalism.)
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To: BuffaloJack
Frozen Dinosaur Meat

Raptor Claw Tetrazzini

Raptor Claw Tetrazzini combines cooked vermicelli, VelociRaptor, and mushrooms with a rich sherry–Parmesan cheese sauce. The mixture is sprinkled with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese and baked until bubbly and golden. This is a great way to use leftover cooked VelociRaptor.

Parmesan is full of flavor, so a little goes a long way. We recommend buying the real thing, which has Parmigiano-Reggiano printed on the rind. It has a sharper taste and a firmer texture than domestic Parmesan.

71 posted on 06/09/2015 1:40:06 PM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: TexasGator

There were witches in North America 300 years ago. They are pretty common now as well.


72 posted on 06/09/2015 1:49:18 PM PDT by freedomfiter2 (Lex rex)
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To: Conservative4Ever
Petting zoo?

 photo Jurassic World - petting zoo 01_zpsr27uf9zj.jpg

73 posted on 06/09/2015 1:49:54 PM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: Advil000

A “mathematical impossibility”? I’m looking forward to seeing your theorem. Please show your work.


74 posted on 06/09/2015 1:52:16 PM PDT by stormer
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To: JoeProBono

“... The original specimen was collected from ...”

And where, pray tell, did they find this later smiling specimen with the soft tissue?


75 posted on 06/09/2015 1:53:52 PM PDT by USMCPOP (Father of LCpl. Karl Linn, KIA 1/26/2005 Al Haqlaniyah, Iraq)
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To: ETL
the researchers found features that resemble red blood cells

Totally unexpected. I always assumed they had hydraulic fluid in them.

76 posted on 06/09/2015 1:58:00 PM PDT by Cementjungle
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To: Red Badger

Crocs caught in the Gulf Stream could survive and arrive in Europe


77 posted on 06/09/2015 1:58:01 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Freedom isn't free, liberty isn't liberal and you'll never find anything Right on the Left)
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To: ETL

Hello lunch, says the Dino to the kid.


78 posted on 06/09/2015 1:58:44 PM PDT by Conservative4Ever (Hey Hillary, ... liar, liar pants on fire.-)
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To: Conservative4Ever

More like, hello, mid-afternoon snack.


79 posted on 06/09/2015 2:03:22 PM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: ETL

That first picture looks more like a salad bar...


80 posted on 06/09/2015 2:09:02 PM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion ( "Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal.")
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