Dinosaurs & Science

**Samurai Waki** · 10-22-2009, 10:20

Originally Posted by Ibn-Khaldun

I don't think it's possible to bring them back. There just isn't enough DNA(if at all) for that.

It's all too old by this point, even the "preserved" blood they found within Mosquitoes flash preserved in Amber (ala Jurassic Park) is worthless, the iron in the blood was sure to take care of that. Had we only progressed to the point we are now, a few million years ago, we might have had better luck.

**Rhyfelwyr** · 10-22-2009, 22:01

Most of the dinosaurs died in the flood 4,000 years ago, except some dragons and the Loch Ness monster.

**Viking** · 10-22-2009, 22:24

It's hard to tell what the future brings. Maybe we will be able to design our own "dinosaurs" from scratch, or maybe we come up with something else really clever that will make us capable of bringing them back no matter the state of the fossil DNA.

**Samurai Waki** · 10-23-2009, 07:32

Originally Posted by Viking

It's hard to tell what the future brings. Maybe we will be able to design our own "dinosaurs" from scratch, or maybe we come up with something else really clever that will make us capable of bringing them back no matter the state of the fossil DNA.

It would have to come from Mitochondrial DNA preserved in Fossilized Bone Marrow. Even though it would be useless, they may be able to replicate it, of course that brings a whole other book of problems with it...

I talk with the Pathologist at the Crime Lab, way too often.

**Fragony** · 10-25-2009, 08:55

I actually have just what you need hanging on my neck, a ancient mosquito TRAPPED in barn. You will find a lot of these in Denmark.

**Kadagar_AV** · 10-22-2009, 22:28

Rhyfelwyr is, of course, correct.

On a more serious note though... I find it fascinating that the dinosaurs got so totaly wiped out. Specially since birds and mammals obviosly survived (along with other species).

**A Very Super Market** · 10-25-2009, 17:40

Originally Posted by Kadagar_AV

Rhyfelwyr is, of course, correct.

On a more serious note though... I find it fascinating that the dinosaurs got so totaly wiped out. Specially since birds and mammals obviosly survived (along with other species).

Well, big creatures need a lot of oxygen to survive. When the meteor hit, the air had less of it, and they got slower and easier to catch.

Did birds exist? I'm not certain. The bottom line is, larger creatures are generally more adapted to a particular enviroment, and are more vulnerable to changes. Presumably, smaller dinosaurs simply evolved into other reptiles, or mammals and birds. Global temperatures also probably dropped due to the debris in the atmosphere, which isn't exactly good for cold-blooded animals. Us humans can go most places, and are hard to exterminate.

**seireikhaan** · 11-02-2009, 22:29

Well, one problem would be the issue of so many dinosaurs being over-specialized. Examples- the giant sauropods(Brachiosaurus, etc...), the over-sized carnivores(T-rex, etc...), the oversized sea life(giant sharks, icthyosaurus, etc...). Even the "not as specialized" creatures like the duck bills were still very large and required a lot of food to eat. All it takes is something(like an asteroid

) to kick out a few links in the food chain and the whole thing would teeter over like a giant game of real life Jinga. Ignoring, of course, the enormous environmental impact such an impact would cause. Look at creatures like the Saber toothed tiger, giant sloth, and dire wolves that all consumed too much food to be able to sustain quick alterations in food supply. Over-specialization can lead a species to the top of a food chain for a while, but it also makes it less adaptable to change and more likely to go extinct in a period of turmoil.