Dinosaur protein analysis results

Heard this story on the radio on the way home from work today:

In the first analysis of proteins extracted from dinosaur bones, scientists say they have established more firmly than ever that the closest living relatives of the mighty predator Tyrannosaurus rex are modern birds.

The research, being published Friday in the journal Science, yielded the first molecular data confirming the widely held hypothesis of a close dinosaur-bird ancestry, the American scientific team reported. . .

Similar molecular tests on tissues from the extinct mastodon confirmed its close genetic link to the elephant, as had been suspected from skeletal affinities.

Of course, the mastodon results are much less dramatic: survival of proteins for tens of thousands of years is one thing, but tens of millions is quite another. From the New York Times.

Posted by David on April 24, 2008 9:24 PM