Fossilized Mosquito Has Blood-filled Abdomen

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Fossilized Mosquito Has Blood-filled Abdomen

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday October 15, 2013 @07:26PM from the life-will-find-a-way dept.

ananyo writes "Jurassic Park's iconic image of a fossilized blood-filled mosquito was thought to be fiction — until now. For the first time, researchers have identified a fossil of a female mosquito with traces of blood in its engorged abdomen. The fossilized mosquito contains molecules that provide strong evidence of blood-feeding among ancient insects back to 46 million years ago (paper abstract). The insect was found not in amber, as depicted in Jurassic Park, but in shale sediments from Montana. After 46 million years, however, any DNA would be long degraded."

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Ars by piripiri · 2013-10-15 19:50 · Score: 5, Informative

Ars Technica had a great article on this matter.
1. Re:Ars by Barsteward · 2013-10-16 03:37 · Score: 1
  
  oooo.. you just made me go and read it....
  
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2. Re:Ars by bcmm · 2013-10-16 11:28 · Score: 1
  
  I don't think you know how one gets mod points.
  
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  # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
  Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
Re:Found in shale sediment. by EzInKy · 2013-10-15 20:05 · Score: 2

Hominids have been splitting rocks for a couple of millions of years now.

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Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Re:That's why it was fossilized by martin-boundary · 2013-10-15 20:05 · Score: 1, Offtopic

Overdone *now* ? It's been overdone ever since Buffy ended and they started making vampires into pre-teen girly heart throbs.
Challenge the impossible... by Savage-Rabbit · 2013-10-15 20:14 · Score: 5, Informative

After 46 million years, however, any DNA would be long degraded.
That's what they used to say about Neandertal DNA. Turns out the DNA does indeed begin to fragment but you can still piece it together for a very long time after it begins to degrade. In this case that statement is it's probably right and 46 million years is too long and even if you could recover some Dino DNA (from any source) it will be fragmented beyond recovery with current technology. Even so, we should not stop trying to defy established notions of what is impossible. A Scientist at Yale University recently discovered that pigments do not degrade, they sometimes fossilise which is an amazing discovery since it means that if we find fossilised dinosaur skin, feathers or insect exoskeletons for that matter we can figure out what color long extinct animals were. It was almost a scientific axiom that we would never know what color dinosaurs were and it certainly blew me away when I found out that was wrong.

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1. Re:Challenge the impossible... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-15 20:57 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  You can replace the lost DNA with frog DNA.
2. Re:Challenge the impossible... by flimflammer · 2013-10-15 21:03 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Just make sure you don't pick those frogs that can switch genders.
3. Re:Challenge the impossible... by SuricouRaven · 2013-10-15 21:16 · Score: 2
  
  It's also too recent for dinosaurs.
4. Re:Challenge the impossible... by peragrin · 2013-10-15 22:50 · Score: 2
  
  true but it is curious as to what kind of animal it dna of. While the earth would have restored itself. There were no dinosaurs, so i wonder what kind of creature that blood sucker liked to feed on.
  
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  i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
5. Re:Challenge the impossible... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-15 22:57 · Score: 1
  
  This. It is basically like half-lives. There is still going to be something somewhere and given enough samples and enough time, there could be a lot of stuff that could easily be stitched together and filled in with other DNA that are known descendants of some of the smaller ones that survived.
  Admittedly finding enough samples is the problem here, but we still haven't really truly dug deep in places where it likely could be hiding out, waiting to be found.
  It is the Mars Problem, life, no life, we'd need to dig really deep in order to find anything since the surface has been blasted to hell and back for millions of years now.
  If there was life, it is likely deep down like the life we have found in deep caves and the like, and ESPECIALLY in the permafrosts at the pole, that is the most likely place to find anything as even in earlier days when the planet was cooling down from the fiery birth, life was already on its way and there could be remains trapped in the pole that would have been cooler than the rest of the planets surface.
  Same goes with Earth, pre and post genesis of life is likely trapped under there, I mean you saw the huge cavern found under the pole recently that was dug in to, there are likely loads of these deep down under the planet in the middles of plates since those tend to be stable, geologically. Anything at the edge of plates is gone, done, finished. Melted never to be seen for many years in to the future.
6. Re:Challenge the impossible... by ByteSlicer · 2013-10-15 23:01 · Score: 2
  
  Just make sure you don't pick those frogs that can switch genders.
  They all can. Gender in amphibians and reptiles is largely determined by the ambient temperature of the eggs.
  This is unlike mammals and birds where mostly predetermined by genetics (sex chromosome).
7. Re:Challenge the impossible... by SuricouRaven · 2013-10-15 23:10 · Score: 1
  
  Eocene. The rapidly diversifying mammals would be ripe for sucking.
8. Re:Challenge the impossible... by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2013-10-15 23:53 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  That's what they used to say about Neandertal DNA.
  I'm hoping that the mosquito bit a pig. Then we could all be dining really soon . . . on . . . Jurassic Pork!
  We already have enough Neandertaler still walking the face of the planet today . . .
  
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9. Re:Challenge the impossible... by TWiTfan · 2013-10-16 00:45 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Welcome to Eocene Parkl! Enjoy our vaguely badger and rodent-looking things!
  
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  The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
10. Re:Challenge the impossible... by Kleen13 · 2013-10-16 01:28 · Score: 1
  
  Or cane toads....
  
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  That sinking feeling deep in your gut when you KNOW you screwed up bad summed up with: {head desk} {head desk}
11. Re:Challenge the impossible... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-16 01:41 · Score: 1
  
  As one of the 'Black Irish', a possible descendant of H. Neandertalensis, I find your aspersions cast on my subspecies offensive! As an ambush, not endurance, hunter, I can probably out-think you on my worst day!
  Why are you running away! *Cough* *Wheeze* STOP!
12. Re:Challenge the impossible... by LifesABeach · 2013-10-16 03:52 · Score: 1
  
  I know it's still science fiction, but couldn't a 3D map be made showing the relative placement of atoms from the belly of the bug? Then it becomes the worlds nastiest jigsaw puzzle.
13. Re:Challenge the impossible... by ByteSlicer · 2013-10-16 08:47 · Score: 1
  
  That's probably chimerism. A male and female embryo fuse at an early stage and their cells end up in random places.
  That's known to happen in humans too.
  Once a bird/mammal starts out as a genetic male or female, it will develop into that (mostly, there are some hormonal imbalances possible).
  Not so in fish/amphibians/reptiles, that start out as genetic male/female/undetermined but develop into a temperature determined gender (a higher temperature biases the male/female mix towards one of the two, usually male).
work backwards by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-15 20:26 · Score: 1

If any proteins are intact, you could work out their amino acid sequence and determine the gene encoding that produces it. It's not perfect, but it's better than giving up.
1. Re:work backwards by barlevg · 2013-10-16 00:10 · Score: 1
  
  _ _ _ / _ r _ / _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
  
  Reconstruct that sequence. If the half-life of DNA really is ~500 years, then this message will be orders of magnitude easier to construct.
2. Re:work backwards by king+neckbeard · 2013-10-16 00:29 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  You/are/an/imbecile
  That was an easy one.
  
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3. Re:work backwards by barlevg · 2013-10-16 00:32 · Score: 1
  
  Well done! Would've been harder without the word breaks, I imagine.
4. Re:work backwards by C0R1D4N · 2013-10-16 00:34 · Score: 1
  
  _ _ _ / _ r _ / _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Reconstruct that sequence. If the half-life of DNA really is ~500 years, then this message will be orders of magnitude easier to construct.
  The/_r_/is/_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
5. Re:work backwards by barlevg · 2013-10-16 00:43 · Score: 1
  
  Okay, round two:
  
  Slashdot's "junk character" filter won't let me post this in the same format, so I'll have to do it this way:
  -Twelve-letter word
  -Three-letter word
  -Four-letter word
  -Four-letter word
  -Eleven-letter word
  -Four-letter word
  -One-letter word
  -Four-letter word
  -Four-letter word
  -Six-letter word
  -Three-letter word
  The last letter of the first word is "s."
6. Re:work backwards by Kilo+Kilo · 2013-10-16 00:45 · Score: 1
  
  you/are/an/imbecile
  
  that wasn't too hard.
7. Re:work backwards by barlevg · 2013-10-16 00:52 · Score: 1
  
  Well, someone already solved it anyway. Try round two.
8. Re:work backwards by hundertwasser · 2013-10-16 15:32 · Score: 1
  
  The/_r_/is/_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
  The ire is palpable?
Life... uh... by Cyfun · 2013-10-15 22:06 · Score: 2

...finds a way.

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Re:A slight alteration... by nightsky30 · 2013-10-15 23:18 · Score: 2

...Fossilized Mosquito Has Blood-filled Abdomen...
Fossilized Mosquito HAD Blood-filled Abdomen...
There. Fixed that for ya...
Clever girl...
Of all the things to go extinct... by Alejux · 2013-10-15 23:27 · Score: 2

...why not mosquitos?!!! The most vile, annoying creatures to ever to roam the earth!
1. Re:Of all the things to go extinct... by king+neckbeard · 2013-10-16 00:09 · Score: 1
  
  That's a funny way to spell lawyers
  
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2. Re:Of all the things to go extinct... by barlevg · 2013-10-16 00:12 · Score: 1
  
  Alas, evolution has not generally selected on the grounds of "pleasantness to mankind."
3. Re:Of all the things to go extinct... by iggymanz · 2013-10-16 03:53 · Score: 1
  
  only recently man has done things with those species; the species from which the farm versions were bred had survived the evolutionary system
4. Re:Of all the things to go extinct... by quantaman · 2013-10-16 11:15 · Score: 1
  
  You've seen the pictures of giant prehistoric dragonflies.
  I, for one, am happy we don't have to deal with hordes of giant prehistoric mosquitoes.
  
  --
  I stole this Sig
beyond time immemorial by harvey+the+nerd · 2013-10-15 23:35 · Score: 4, Interesting

The real bottom line is that we should be searching for cold spots, like Antarctic caves, with relict animal DNA that might average -57C (-70F). Then let's see how many million years we can drive DNA recovery.
Re:That's why it was fossilized by TWiTfan · 2013-10-16 00:41 · Score: 1

Yes, because the vampires on Buffy were all ugly, overweight, middle-aged men. Not a pretty or handsome teenager or 20-something in sight on that show.

--
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
Oh? by endianx · 2013-10-16 01:02 · Score: 1

After 46 million years, however, any DNA would be long degraded

So you're sayin' there's a chance!
Degraded DNA by gravis777 · 2013-10-16 03:35 · Score: 1

After 46 million years, however, any DNA would be long degraded."
No problem, That's where our geneticists take over. Thinking Machine supercomputers and gene sequencers break down the strand in minutes - - - - and Virtual Reality displays show our geneticists the gaps in the DNA sequence! Since most animal DNA is ninety percent identical, we use the complete DNA of a frog - - - - to fill in the - - holes and - -complete - - the - - - - code! Whew! Now we can make a baby dinosaur!
1. Re:Degraded DNA by locopuyo · 2013-10-16 06:20 · Score: 1
  
  http://eliteownage.com/dinomeat.svg
  
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Re:Found in shale sediment. by Half-pint+HAL · 2013-10-16 04:01 · Score: 1

Yes, but needles and transcontinental haystacks come to mind here....

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Re:That's why it was fossilized by geekoid · 2013-10-16 04:14 · Score: 2

Vampires are demon based in cultural mythos going back to the Romans, and earlier.
In short, it was an ACCURATE take on Vampires.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire

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Re:Found in shale sediment. by Samantha+Wright · 2013-10-16 04:32 · Score: 1

Just assume the haystack's full of needles—for example, in getting this mosquito, they may have narrowly missed uncovering the three hundred million year old remains of a Buick with tomorrow's winning lottery ticket in the glove compartment.

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Too bad by azav · 2013-10-16 04:52 · Score: 2

That red blood calls generally don't have DNA.
Bummer, huh?

--
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
1. Re:Too bad by Sockatume · 2013-10-17 00:14 · Score: 1
  
  Given that mosquitos drink whole blood, and not just red blood cells, you'd expect to find DNA-carrying cells in with any red blood cells. Of course it's moot because the traces they found were not cells.
  
  --
  No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Degraded DNA by srobert · 2013-10-16 06:06 · Score: 1

The DNA is long degraded. That's disappointing I was looking forward to barbecuing up mastodon steaks.
Re:JURASSIC PARK!!!!! by dragon-file · 2013-10-16 06:56 · Score: 1

I just read the comments to try and find a Jurassic Park reference.... This comment will do nicely. Thank you.

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Re:Found in shale sediment. by Half-pint+HAL · 2013-10-17 07:06 · Score: 1

It's OK, a three hundred million year old lottery ticket would be a forgery anyway, so nothing was lost.

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Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'