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Half-Life of DNA is 521 Years, Jurassic Park Impossible After All
another random user writes with this quote from Nature News:
"Few researchers have given credence to claims that samples of dinosaur DNA have survived to the present day, but no one knew just how long it would take for genetic material to fall apart. Now, a study of fossils found in New Zealand is laying the matter to rest — and putting paid to hopes of cloning a Tyrannosaurus rex (abstract). After cell death, enzymes start to break down the bonds between the nucleotides that form the backbone of DNA, and micro-organisms speed the decay. In the long run, however, reactions with water are thought to be responsible for most bond degradation. Groundwater is almost ubiquitous, so DNA in buried bone samples should, in theory, degrade at a set rate. Determining that rate has been difficult because it is rare to find large sets of DNA-containing fossils with which to make meaningful comparisons. To make matters worse, variable environmental conditions such as temperature, degree of microbial attack and oxygenation alter the speed of the decay process. By comparing the specimens' ages and degrees of DNA degradation, the researchers calculated that DNA has a half-life of 521 years. That means that after 521 years, half of the bonds between nucleotides in the backbone of a sample would have broken; after another 521 years half of the remaining bonds would have gone; and so on."
Russian and Korean Researchers Will Inject Mammoth DNA Into Elephant Eggs, Resurrecting 10,000-Year-Old Beast
Quick, what does this mean regarding mammoth burgers?
...for God's sake, lets get samples and clone Keith Richards before its too late!?!?!?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
If you don't pay for your putting, you can't have any meat. How can you have any meat if you don't pay for your putting?
But we're going to explain to you how half-lives work anyways.
moox. for a new generation.
I wonder if 521 years is how long we'll be waiting for Half Life 3?
Welcome to Dodo Park.
Sorry, it just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
If the dinosaur is encased in amber, why do we need to wait for a mosquito? Why would we want to wait for a mosquito that can bite through amber... drill the thing then get the hell out of there.
A mosquito that bit a dinosaur encased in amber....
Forget that. I'd like to see the tree that generated the sap to encase a dinosaur in amber. :-)
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
OK. I just showed my computer a picture of a Komodo Dragon. It just is sitting there, doing nothing.
Now what am I supposed to do?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Why is the parent modded 'Funny' - that is the story behind how the scientists in Jurassic Park found dinosaur DNA...
You just explained why it's funny.
which is totally what she said
He meant frogs not "frog's". Dino DNA is of course really large (Were talking a T-Rex afterall), so all they have to do is inject a whole frog directly in sequence. AAAATSAATTTTS(frog)AAA
The half-life of unusual British phrases in the US is less than 18 years.
Yes, he's sure. No Jesus riding Velociraptors on Slashdot, please.
- "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
It's 98% chicken DNA,
With 2% Samuel Jackson mixed in to make it a Bad Ass Mother Fucker.
Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra