Find dinosaur DNA is somewhat "unlikely", according to a paleontologist

The paleontologist at the Autonomous University of Madrid and director of the site of Las Hoyas (Cuenca), José Luis Sanz, considered unlikely to be found DNA from dinosaurs , because these molecules do not remain indefinitely in time, so consider that procedures cloning as developed by Steven Spielberg in Jurassic Park is "completely unworkable".


Sanz, who gave the lecture on Thursday do we know what we know about dinosaurs in the Oceanogràfic of the City of the Arts in Valencia, was little "optimistic" the possibility of finding dinosaur DNA "usable" when rebuilt the whole molecule, which, he said, they are "relatively stable over time" but not "indefinitely."


In this regard, said that the DNA fragments in the oldest known fossil record are of Neanderthal or organisms such as mammoths, around 50,000 or 60,000 years , while the dinosaurs became extinct long before.


On the extinction of these creatures, said that dinosaurs did not disappear completely and there is a group of them that " we can see them flying through the gardens or eat them roasted, "which are birds .


She stated that the birds are "specialized dinosaurs" and explained that in a moment of the Jurassic, a group of dinosaurs related to velociraptors " developed feathers and a sort of ancestor of wings, the proto-wings. "


Sanz defended the importance of studying these things since, in this way, we can know "what happened in the evolution of living matter on this planet in the last 3,800 million years. " He indicated that this study is "maybe" justified from the point of view "sociocultural" as there are "many fans" to this matter.


Thus, said: "Those who work on dinosaurs are a kind of public servants who are dedicated to gathering information for people to enjoy knowing then that data as a Tyrannosaurus weighed nine tons. "


The professor said that at present known about 600 genera of dinosaurs , and there are authors who say that there have been 1,200 to 3,000 , "or even 5,000" genre, but it "is an estimate with very low base." However, it defended the need to "know more" and to find more fossils to increase this knowledge.