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Scientists Find Soft Tissue in T-Rex Fossil

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the and-it-actually-tasted-like-chicken dept.

douglips writes "Reuters is running a story about a shocking development in paleontology: A T-Rex thigh bone fossil was reluctantly broken to fit in a transport helicopter, and inside soft tissue was found. It appears to include blood vessels and bone cells. Scientists hope to isolate proteins, and perhaps even DNA."

48 of 978 comments (clear)

  1. Let the cloning begin! by mycro · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let the cloning begin!

    1. Re:Let the cloning begin! by justkarl · · Score: 3, Funny

      I for one welcome our new cloned T-rex overlords.

    2. Re:Let the cloning begin! by mastahblastah · · Score: 5, Funny

      Let the cloning b3gin! ...


    3. Re:Let the cloning begin! by shotfeel · · Score: 4, Funny

      Haven't even started, and we already have a mutation.

    4. Re:Let the cloning begin! by pizzaman100 · · Score: 4, Funny
      Mr. T-Rex, I was always on your side, sir.

      Does he have a mohawk? I pity the fool that messes with Mr. T-Rex.

    5. Re:Let the cloning begin! by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Funny

      Before you clone dinosaur you should make sure of the following.

      Use OpenBSD Yea it is Unix but it very secure. And runs on smaller computers which can be put on multiple power supplies and power sources, and UPSed. Except for running a hole park off of a single Cray, where once the Cray goes down all hell breaks loose.

      If you are going to use electrical cars. Make sure they have enough battery to drive across the island on one charge.

      Have 2 fences. running parallel to each other. In the middle dig a very deep hole big enough to prevent any animal to climb out or jump over.

      Use the round door knobs with a punch key security. So even if they figured out the code which is unlikely they will need opposable thumbs to open the door.

      If Possible use Male Dinosaurs they just dont have the equipment to lay eggs.

      Armed Security Guards, who can also double as tour guides.

      Safety points filled with tranquilizer darts and a gun.

      Steel Reinforced Bathrooms.

      All electrical fences have a generator backup.

      Helicopter tours.

      If they spit acid remove the glands before making them in front of the public.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    6. Re:Let the cloning begin! by speederaser · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's not a mutation, it's intelligent design.

  2. Thank god for Jurassic Park... by Goronmon · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now we know that when the cloned T-Rex escapes, if you stand perfectly still it won't see you!

    1. Re:Thank god for Jurassic Park... by mrtroy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Now we know that when the cloned T-Rex escapes, if you stand perfectly still it won't see you!

      Also, do NOT run directly to the shitter.

      --
      [I can picture a world without war, without hate. I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it]
    2. Re:Thank god for Jurassic Park... by nizo · · Score: 5, Funny

      As much as I trust TV and the essentially random guesses made by people about something that has been dead for millions of years, I am not sure I want to stand still while being chased by a really big meat-eating dinosaur unless I am reeeaaally extra sure that it won't see me. On the upside I only have to run past the other people who have seen Jurassic Park and are standing still to test if this theory is true or not. If it runs past them I simply freeze, otherwise I can escape while it chomps on the first few unlucky souls to hold still.

      --
      I Am My Own Worst Enemy
    3. Re:Thank god for Jurassic Park... by the+phantom · · Score: 4, Funny

      You don't have to be the fastest member of the crowd, just faster than the slowest member.

      --
      Rhapsody in Numbers
    4. Re:Thank god for Jurassic Park... by shawn(at)fsu · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm sorry but if I was standing in front of a T-Rex , but running directly to the sh1tter would be the first on my list of things to do. It would have nothing to do with hiding.

      --
      500 dollar reward for tip(s) leading to the arrest of the person(s) who stole my sig.
    5. Re:Thank god for Jurassic Park... by daeley · · Score: 5, Funny

      birds are believed to be whats left of dinosours as they evolved to today

      It'd be amusing if the T-Rex had the parrot's vocal abilities to mimic human voices.

      Of course, the only words they'd be exposed to and thus be able to mimic would be various versions of "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" and "OH DEAR GOD NORRUUUURRRGGGGLLLE!!!!" and that would just scare other people off.

      A sad life, the T-Rex's.

      Sigh.

      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    6. Re:Thank god for Jurassic Park... by Ubergrendle · · Score: 4, Funny

      You don't have to be the fastest member of the crowd, just faster than the slowest member.

      Which is why I never, ever discourage someone from eating at McDonalds.

      Obseity in others is your best defense mechanism. :)

      --
      John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
    7. Re:Thank god for Jurassic Park... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Funny
      Now we know that when the cloned T-Rex escapes, if you stand perfectly still it won't see you!

      Also, do NOT run directly to the shitter.

      I would like to point out that for the vast majority of us, if we ever came upon a T-Rex (or many of the other top-predators) the time between spotting the critter and involuntary evacuation is going to be way too short to find a shitter.

      I once came upon a stuffed tiger at an outdoor show, and my first reaction was "Oh, crap that's huge, run away". Before I even fully registered what I was seeing my brain was already looking for an exit.
      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    8. Re:Thank god for Jurassic Park... by Sialagogue · · Score: 5, Funny

      Obseity in others is your best defense mechanism. :)

      Certainly from predation, but speaking for fat people at McDonald's everywhere, I'd like to say that we're betting that the global food supply will run out before a T-Rex comes to life and chases us down.

      We think that a better defense mechanism is taking two weeks longer to starve to death so we can eat you scrawny arrogant bastards as you drop like flies.

      I don't care how thin you are, we'll still get a whole bunch of quarter pounders out of you...

      --
      The only acceptable defense of scientific results is to say that they were the product of the Scientific Method.
    9. Re:Thank god for Jurassic Park... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Funny
      The two things you can say without much doubt about all of your ancestors is that they had good survival reflexes and enjoyed f-, ahem, reproduction.

      Nah, I'm a WASP. That means that my ancestors grudgingly reproduced and thought of England. =)
      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  3. I for one.... by CoffeeJedi · · Score: 5, Funny

    hail our new cloned-DNA T-rex overlor-*CHOMP*

    --
    May you be touched by His Noodly Appendage. RAmen.
  4. Lessons by odano · · Score: 5, Funny

    If I said it once, I've said it a thousand times...

    Modern helicopters are just too small!

  5. Dinosaurs are a myth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny


    after all, earth is only 6000 years old and was created in 40 days, unless my sources are wrong

    1. Re:Dinosaurs are a myth by aussie_a · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, no, no. God created the Dinosaurs extinct. Apparently he really liked the idea of dinosaurs, but thought they were too homosexual.

  6. Finally by ChozCunningham · · Score: 4, Funny

    We can check for traces of tar, nicotine and other toxins, and scientists will get to end the extinction debate. Seriously, might this be the biggest news of the decade? Longer?

    --
    Looks good for your age..
  7. When I get my T-Rex... by a+gremlin · · Score: 5, Funny

    those damn SUVs better watch out. Yeah, who owns the road now %^*@$!

    1. Re:When I get my T-Rex... by Kelt · · Score: 5, Funny

      open the door, get on the floor, everybody clone the dinosaur

      -Kelt

      (must credit the wife for that one)

      --
      My intelligence insults itself.
    2. Re:When I get my T-Rex... by poopdeville · · Score: 3, Funny

      open the door, get on the floor, everybody clone the dinosaur

      You might call it giving credit, but I call it giving blame. Quite unfunny.

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
  8. Fuck by erikharrison · · Score: 4, Funny

    Anybody got a handy chaos theorist? Anybody? Seriously, I need a chaos theorist, oily hair, glasses, fuzzy math skills, preferably debauched.

    Alternatively do any of you know anything about UNIX systems?

    1. Re:Fuck by The-Bus · · Score: 4, Funny

      The last chaos theorist we kept around wandered into the teleporation lab and turned into a half-man half-fly.

      --

      Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    2. Re:Fuck by nacturation · · Score: 5, Funny

      Anybody got a handy chaos theorist? Anybody? Seriously, I need a chaos theorist, oily hair, glasses, fuzzy math skills, preferably debauched.

      Alternatively do any of you know anything about UNIX systems?

      No problem. When the T-Rexes start attacking, we can simply get our handy chaos theorist to upload a virus into the mother T-Rex and just pray that the T-Rex is Mac compatible.

      --
      Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
    3. Re:Fuck by omicronish · · Score: 4, Funny

      Alternatively do any of you know anything about UNIX systems?

      I watched Jurassic Park in my early teens, and that movie ruined my knowledge of UNIX. For years I thought all UNIX systems had cool graphical UIs like that, and then I tried a real one and was disappointed by these crazy things called "characters". Now I'm a Windows user :(

  9. This may prove Homer Simpson wrong.. by kalel666 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Homer: He may be rich, but money can't buy everything!
    Marge: Like what?
    Homer: . . . A Dinosaur!

    I want to be the first 35 year old kid on my block with a T-Rex. Leash laws be damned!

    --
    I HAVE CUBIC WISDOM THAT TRANSCENDS AND CONTRADICTS ONE DAY GODS
  10. What I want to knkow is.. by UncleBiggims · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why would a T-Rex be using Kleenex?

    Hello?... Is this thing on?

  11. why? Why? WHY? by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 5, Funny

    WHY did it have to be the DNA of a T-Rex? Why couldn't it have been a nice herbivore, like a stegosaurus, or even better, one of those little chicken-sized dinos?

    Now there's going to be running and screaming, and it's all going to be a big huge mess.

    --

    Technoli
  12. Let the cloning begin! by Sebadude · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let the cloning begin! ...

    --
    Eh.
  13. Oh, yeah! by KC7GR · · Score: 3, Funny

    Mmmm... It -does- taste like chicken. If you can imagine 10,000 year-old chicken getting better with age.

    Now if I can just find a 10,000 year-old White Zin to go with it...

    --

    Bruce Lane, KC7GR,

    Blue Feather Technologies

    1. Re:Oh, yeah! by tommck · · Score: 5, Funny

      I thought that specifying that the bone was only 10,000 years old was bad, but when you talked about drinking White Zinfandel, your ignorance was confirmed... ;)

      --
      ---- It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again. It does this whenever it's told.
  14. Forced? by sugapablo · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Paleontologists forced to break the creature's massive thighbone to get it on a helicopter..."

    Who was heading this team, Homer Simpson?

    I can just see him now:
    Homer: "Grrr..."
    Lisa: "Dad, it's just too big to fit in there."
    Homer: "Nonsense Lisa, daddy will just shove it in....Grrr....here it goes...." *snap* "...DOH!"

    --
    Sugapablo
  15. Re:Jurassic Park by MrBlue+VT · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ignorance of "Time Cube" indicts you stupid and evil. Explain the "Time Cube". Do you like being Stupid? "Our Cube" corners Liars!

  16. Re:Precedent by Swamii · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is not the first identification of soft protein laden tissue that has been extracted from dinosaur tissue as Mary Schweitzer at North Carolina State University has extracted these tissues from other tissues as well, so there is a precedent.

    Of course getting actual DNA from these tissues will be a long shot due to its fragile nature, but protein sequence may prove very informative in letting us define exactly where genetic lineages have gone over evolution.

    Thanks for spoiling our fun. Can we get back to the Jurassic Park jokes please?

    --
    Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit
  17. Re:so who gets to patent T-Rex DNA? by beej · · Score: 5, Funny

    Whoever clones one first! I mean, who's gonna argue with a guy who has a friggin T-REX backing him up?

  18. In response I'm joining... by Nevermore-Spoon · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...the NRA. They have never looked as attractive as they do today...

    The obligitory Matrix Quote
    "We're gonna need Guns...Lots of Guns"

    --
    I have great faith in fools; My friends call it self-confidence. Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1845
  19. Re:Precedent by Scrameustache · · Score: 4, Funny

    Mary Schweitzer is the scientist in both of these stories. Seems she's got a knack for finding fossilized soft tissue.

    "Oh darn, I have yet again rented the small helicopter, what a klutz I am. It seems that will have to cut up this precious fossil that is too large to get on board. Woe is me, had we brought the large helicopter, this here fossile would have been taken to museum without having been chopped up... oh, look at that..."

    Clever lass.

    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

  20. Now just watch. by Rei · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now just watch.

    Now just watch. People will clone Tyrannosaurs, and they'll turn out to be cute-colored, friendly carrion eaters.

    --
    "It felt almost as good as stealing cars from grandma." -- Margaret Thatcher, probably.
    1. Re:Now just watch. by digismack · · Score: 3, Funny

      Great. Now you've gone and done it.

      That Barney page on PBS' site is now going to get tons of hits from Slashdot, and the execs are going to start thinking geeks love the big purple dinosaur.

      --
      http://www.hollowdepth.com
  21. Re:Jurassic Park by DrStrange66 · · Score: 5, Funny

    God creates dinosaur.
    God kills dinosaur.
    God creates man.
    Man kills God.
    Man creates dinosaur.
    Dinosaur eats man.
    Woman inherits the earth.

  22. Re:Uh oh. by mkmoose · · Score: 5, Funny

    Analogous to a geek that can turn on a chick

  23. I'll tell you how - Jesus is the answer by gosand · · Score: 5, Funny
    I'm slightly skeptical. The article talks about soft tissue, but none of the scientists even try to explain how soft tissue could have survived for seventy million years?


    Ahh. This just proves that Evolution is BS, and that the earth is not hundreds of millions of years old. It is just a couple of thousand years old. Soft tissue could have lasted that long. In your FACE scientists. The dinosaurs were obviously killed in the crusades because they were dumb animals that didn't believe in Jesus. Duh.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  24. Oh, be nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    C'mon, she's a nerd girl, she automatically gets a bonus for that. She's got nice legs. And archaeological digs tend to be out in the middle of nowhere and last for months and months with no other stimulation...what would you think then? Darn right.

  25. Panic over! by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Lab analysis reveals that that the soft tissue was a Chicken McNugget dropped by a site worker eating his lunch.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.