This Fossil is Rewriting Everything We Know About Dinosaurs
A new study from the University of Liverpool has rewritten how we understand the fossilization process
It was long believed that the fossilization process destroys all organic material
But new analysis of a hip bone from a Edmontosaurus revealed a patch of bone collagen, suggesting other fossils might have similar organic remnants
'A DNA strand, like me, is a blueprint for building a living thing' says the anthropomorphic double-helix Mr. DNA at the beginning of 1993's Jurassic Park, '...And sometimes, animals that went extinct millions of years ago, like dinosaurs, left their blueprints behind for us to find.'
In the film, the way the scientists acquire those 'blueprints' is through dinosaur blood found in a mosquito that was preserved in amber. If that seems like an overwrought way to get that dino DNA, keep in mind that such a convoluted workaround was needed, since, as SciTechDaily notes, 'scientists widely believed that the fossilization process destroyed all original organic molecules, leaving fossils devoid of their original biological material.'
But a new study published in Analytical Chemistry seems poised to shatter that long-held belief.
The study, led by the University of Liverpool, analyzed a fossilized hip bone from a Edmontosaurus using 'advanced mass spectrometry and other analytical techniques.' Those techniques, including protein sequencing, led to the discovery of bone collagen still remaining, despite fossilization.
'This research shows beyond doubt that organic biomolecules, such as proteins like collagen, appear to be present in some fossils,' remarked Professor Steve Taylor of the University of Liverpool's Mass Spectrometry Research Group.
Taylor points out that the study refutes a commonly-asserted idea that any organic material found on fossils was the result of contamination, rather than remnants of the fossilized creature in question.
Taylor also asserts that the implications of this study extend far beyond the single Edmontosaurus sacrum they had analyzed, which had been part of the University's collection after being excavated from the South Dakota Hell Creek Formation's Upper Cretaceous strata. He argues that 'cross-polarized light microscopy images of fossil bones, collected for a century, should be revisited.'
The reason for this is the possibility that something may have been missed the first time, when it wasn't thought that organic material could remain on a fossil. Now, armed with this new knowledge, those re-examining the images might be able to spot more intact patches of bone collagen, 'potentially offering a ready-made trove of fossil candidates for further protein analysis.' That protein analysis, Taylor suggests, could reveal previously unknown connections between dinosaur species.
Of course, this discovery also raises a new question: if the past widely-held belief that the fossilization process destroys organic molecules is now disproven, the question becomes exactly how this organic material was preserved. But while this new discovery raises new questions, it also presents new opportunities to analyze and understand our ancient biochemical history.
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